Middle Orient

The head of Turkey’s election board has declared President Recep Tayyip Erdogan the winner of the country’s historic runoff vote, extending his presidency until 2028. “Based on provisional results, it has been determined that Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been elected president,” Supreme Election Council Chairman Ahmet Yener was quoted as …

Sunday’s election, one of the most heavily contested in Turkey’s modern history, saw President Recep Tayyip Erdogan leading the presidential vote with 49.5 percent against his opponent Kemal Kilicdaroglu (44.9 percent), as the country heads to a run-off for the first time ever on 28 May. Turkey also held its …

Atatürkism… tried to reinvent Turkey’s identity as a modern state claiming Hittite and Celtic roots, distancing itself from the “decadent Orient” and hoping to regain its proper place in the family of European nations. More importantly, Atatürk introduced the concept of secularism, using the French term laïcité, to end the …

Since 2021, the Biden Administration has been cozying up to Iran in a way that has often seemed agonizingly embarrassing to entice it back to the disastrous 2015 “JCPOA” nuclear deal of the Obama Administration. Mercifully those efforts did not succeed: the new deal would still most likely have enabled …

Turkey’s influence in Africa has been growing massively over the past 20 years and whoever wins Sunday’s presidential run-off will have to consider where next to take the relationship. Ever since Recep Tayyip Erdogan took power in Turkey two decades ago, first as prime minister then as president, he has …

To analyze the crossroads Turkey faces in the 2023 elections, it could prove useful to “look back from the alternative futures” and explore how the possible outcomes might play out. Standing in the future, looking back It’s 2030 and seven years have passed since Turkey’s critical May 2023 elections. Since …

The agreement between Saudi Arabia and Iran to renew their diplomatic relations, announced in Beijing last March, exemplifies a broader push and desire across the Middle East to resolve the region’s many disputes and reduce overall tensions. This broader trend also includes Syria’s return to the Arab fold, the resumption …

Key points During the Netanyahu government’s first five months, Israel-Arab ties have slowed down and tensions with the Palestinians have increased. Despite regional opposition to Netanyahu and his coalition, Arab leaders congratulated him on his victory and indicated a willingness to engage. Arab states have issued warnings or condemned statements, …

A return to a parliamentary democracy system—the opposition’s most important electoral promise—is highly unlikely if Erdogan remains in power. This would be bad news for Turkey’s Western allies. After a dynamic and unfair campaign, the interim results of Turkey’s dual election send the two main presidential contenders to a second …

Ahmed Al Badr spied for ‘hostile country’ and was given weapons training at overseas camp, says Interior Ministry Saudi Arabia executed a citizen on Tuesday who it said planned a terrorist attack in the kingdom after joining a training camp abroad. Ahmed Al Badr illegally left the kingdom for training …