Author: Turkiye Scoop
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced his ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) election manifesto on Tuesday, building on the party’s years of experience in municipality works and emphasizing a vision for future challenges. The AK Party’s understanding of municipalism dates back to Erdoğan being elected mayor of Istanbul in 1994. His success in the metropolitan city opened the path for Erdoğan to become his first prime minister in 2003 and eventually, president in 2014, after which he could convey his experience in municipal works to a country-wide level of services. After Türkiye switched to the presidential system, strengthening the…
Ankara’s and Tehran’s parallel stances regarding the ongoing war on Gaza are unlikely to spread into other fields of cooperation as the two countries’ geopolitical rivalry lingers and ideological differences constitute barriers. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi on Wednesday agreed on the need to avert the Israel-Hamas war from engulfing the entire Middle East region. The conflict has already spread across the region. Aside from Gaza, the theater of conflict with the widest international repercussions has been the Red Sea, where the Houthis have repeatedly targeted shipping they say is bound for or linked to Israel.…
As the critical March 31 local elections near, Türkiye’s political parties try to form alliances or other cooperation models to increase their votes in provinces. Yet a dispirited and disunited opposition raises questions on a possible victory for opposition voters while strengthening the ruling alliance’s hand. The core of the race for the local elections will be the three metropolitan municipalities of Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. Voters’ eyes have turned especially toward the country’s economic and cultural capital, Istanbul, which also faces the pressing risk of an upcoming earthquake in the near future. Ekrem Imamoğlu, 52, the current mayor of…
Türkiye could act as a mediator should a recent controversial port deal between Ethiopia and the self-declared Republic of Somaliland spiral into a regional crisis, according to an expert in international politics. The two sides signed a deal on Jan. 1 to grant landlocked Ethiopia commercial and military access to the Red Sea in return for recognition of Somaliland as an independent nation. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s stated ambition to secure access to the Red Sea is a source of tension between the Horn of Africa nation and its neighbors. It has raised concerns of a fresh conflict in…
As Israel’s relentless attacks on Gaza continue to claim civilian lives by the day, the world and especially societies in the Middle East are losing hope in universal values and a global justice system championed by the West so far. Months have passed, and more than 20,000 people have lost their lives in Gaza, mostly children. However, despite the mounting number of civilian deaths and war crimes committed by Israel, neither the U.S. nor the EU have raised their voice enough to stop and condemn the attacks. Hamas’ attack on Israel can be condemned while Israel’s attack on Gaza is…