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Turkey

Turkey

August 1, 2026

Ankara 1:10 pm

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A demonstrator carries a CHP flag during a protest in Izmir, Turkey, on May 24, 2026.

Explainer

What’s behind Turkey’s latest wave of arrests against opposition mayors?

The operations come as Ozgur Ozel’s newly formed party gains momentum.

Latest News

Turkey, Pakistan among 14 countries backing Saudi Arabia's anti-Houthi Red Sea alliance

A Saudi navy ship is pictured docked at King Faisal navy base in Jeddah before the departure of a team to Port Sudan to help with the evacuation efforts of people fleeing Sudan, on April 29, 2023.

Turkey ready to participate in post-UNIFIL force in Lebanon, Erdogan tells Aoun

Erdogan and Aoun

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Ezgi Akin

Associate Editor (Turkey)

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

People stand facing Ataturk Cultural Center during a protest at Taksim Square in Istanbul June 18, 2013. Performance artist Erdem Gunduz became the new symbol of anti-government protests in Turkey on Tuesday after his eight-hour vigil in Taksim Square earned him the nickname "the Standing Man". Gunduz said he was protesting in solidarity with demonstrators who were evicted at the weekend from Gezi Park adjoining Taksim, an intervention by police that triggered some of the most violent clashes to date. What

Turkey’s Missed Opportunities

Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan might wish to retract some of his foreign policy decisions.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (C) reacts as he poses with his Greek counterpart Antonis Samaras (L) and Greece's Foreign Minister Dimitris Avramopoulos (R) after signing agreements in Istanbul March 4, 2013. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3EK7W

Turkey's Egypt Question

Turkey's role in the Middle East will turn on how it handles the crisis in Egypt.

Mothers of slain Turkish protesters lead a march in Ankara on July 26, 2013 to demand justice.

Protest Aftermath Stokes Anti-Government Anger in Turkey

A judicial clampdown on demonstrators and lenient treatment of deadly police conduct hardens anti-government sentiment in the wake of Turkey’s protests.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) meets with Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu before attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) security meetings in Bandar Seri Begawan July 2, 2013. REUTERS/Jacquelyn Martin/Pool (BRUNEI - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX119IY

Al-Monitor’s Gursel Wins Award; Watch US House on Syria

Al-Monitor’s coverage of press freedom in Turkey, the US House of Representatives on Syria, and Iraq as possible mediator on Iran; Daoud Kuttab discusses the Middle East with Fareed Zakaria.

Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi (R) and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (L) answer questions from journalists during a news conference after their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Cairo November 17, 2012. REUTERS/Egyptian Presidency/Handout (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTR3AJOZ

Erdogan’s Egypt Policy In Disarray

Egyptian Ambassador to Ankara Abderahman Salaheldin asks whether Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has a principled approach to the Egyptian revolutions of 2011 and 2013.

The sun sets over the Ottoman-era Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul November 26, 2012. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: RELIGION) - RTR3AWMK

Islamists Extend Olive Branch To Turkish Atheists

Despite the bitter confrontation between Turkey’s Islamists and secularists, there is a welcome sign of the country’s potential for synthesizng Islam and liberal democracy.

Supporters hold a poster of Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan during a rally of ruling AK party in Istanbul June 16, 2013. Tens of thousands of Erdogan's supporters massed at a rally in Istanbul on Sunday, as riot police fired tear gas to break up pockets of anti-government protesters in the city center several kilometers away. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10PUP

Erdogan’s Sinking International Prestige

The more Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashes out at “international conspirators” as the cause of his troubles, the more his international reputation suffers.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Kurdistan Regional President Masoud Barzani pose for the media before their meeting in Istanbul April 19, 2012. REUTERS/Stringer/Pool (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR30XVX

Turkey’s Missed Opportunities With the Kurds

Disarray in Turkish foreign policy is not allowing Turkey to play its rightful role in supporting Kurdish national unity.

An injured journalist is filmed and helped by his colleagues during clashes between riot police and May Day protesters in central Istanbul May 1, 2013. Turkish riot police clashed with thousands of May Day protesters in Istanbul on Wednesday, firing water cannon and tear gas at crowds that tried to break through barricades to reach the city's main square, witnesses said. The incidents followed the pattern of recent years, when May Day demonstrations in Turkey's largest city have often been marked by clashes

Gezi Cleansing In Turkish Media

Many journalists lost their jobs and suffered from police violence following the shifting of Prime Minister Erdogan’s hard-line reactions to media freedoms.

An Indonesian soldier from the United Nations Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL) uses his walkie-talkie as he stands near a picture of Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah in the southern Lebanese village of Adaisseh July 24, 2013. Europe's decision to blacklist Hezbollah's "military wing" was triggered by the Lebanese movement's growing role in Syria, but the partial ban may have little practical impact due to fears of destabilising Lebanon and the wider Middle East. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho (

How Will Terror List Decision Affect EU-Hezbollah Ties?

The European Union’s decision to add Hezbollah’s military wing to the list of terrorist organizations could compromise key security coordination between the two sides.

A protester opposing Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi holds a sign reading "Depart" near riot police during a protest against the new judicial law in front of Egypt's Shura Council in Cairo May 25, 2013. Egypt's highest court ruled on Saturday that parts of a revised election law setting out terms for a parliamentary election were unconstitutional, casting fresh doubt over a poll that has already been delayed. The Shura Council has approved, Saturday, the referral of the contentious amendment proposal of th

Is the Middle East Rejecting Radicalism?

The world should not miss the opportunity for stablility and progress offered by the Middle East's rejection of radicalism.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad (R) welcomes Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan at Damascus airport January 17, 2011. REUTERS/Sana (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTXWOQH

Erdogan’s Assad Problem

Could Syrian President Bashar al-Assad outlast Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in office?