by Soner Cagaptay | Jul 10, 2014 | The Majalla Magazine
When I visited Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in 2007, my host, a leading Kurdish official, asked me when Turkey was going to invade the KRG. Today, the world has seen a 180-degree shift, and the question now is if the KRG will cut ties...
by Soner Cagaptay | Mar 24, 2014 | Opinion
In the past year, Turkey has been shaken by anti-government rallies in which six protestors were killed—an unusual spike in violence in a society that is otherwise increasingly non-violent. Five of these fatalities occurred during the Gezi rallies of June 2013. On...
by Soner Cagaptay | Sep 14, 2013 | Opinion
Among all Middle East powers, Turkey has uniquely stood behind Mohamed Mursi and his Muslim Brotherhood party after their ouster from power in July. This has cost Turkey dearly. Egypt has pulled its ambassador from Ankara. To rub salt on the wound, Cairo has entered...
by Soner Cagaptay | Jul 13, 2013 | Opinion
In recent months, Turkey has done the unthinkable, launching peace talks with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), an organization Ankara designates as a terrorist group. An important motivation for this breakthrough has been Turkey’s Syria policy. Turkey is pursuing...
by Soner Cagaptay | May 26, 2013 | Debate
Soon after the rise of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2002, Turkey launched an ambitious foreign policy agenda to make itself a stand-alone regional leader. With this new vision, Turkey looked to cast itself as a central actor, wielding soft power to shape...
