The Ukraine crisis poses two particularly uneasy questions for Turkey: How to uphold a power balance in the Black Sea? And how to manage its relations between Russia, Ukraine and the West? So far, Ankara’s policy towards Moscow consists of both deterrence and dialogue. In regards deterrence,...

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan began his third term in May 2023 with the appointment of Mehmet Şimşek as finance minister and the business executive Hafize Gaye Erkan as governor of the central bank. Both are widely acknowledged and experienced proponents of orthodox economics. The...

The economic and financial crisis of 2008 disrupted the European Union’s (EU) enlarge­ment policy for the Western Balkans. At least since that time, the region has seen greater involvement by economic actors from non-EU countries such as China, Russia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates...

The implementation of the European Union’s (EU) Green Deal to reduce emissions by 2030 and to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 will have an impact on the EU’s trade policy and on its trade relations with its non-EU partners. With the ongoing decarbonisation process of European economic...

On 6 February 2023, Turkey was hit by one of the worst earthquakes in its history. Buildings were destroyed and damaged across the southern and eastern provinces. The official death toll is already over 50,000, and it is conceivable that the real numbers will be much higher. The earthquake also...

Nearly a year after its formation, the Nation Alliance, consisting of six opposition parties ("Table of Six"), finally started to act like a full-fledged electoral alliance against the ruling bloc under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The six opposition leaders have long been criticised for...

It has become cliché to argue that Turkish-Iranian relations oscillate between a controlled rivalry and limited cooperation. However, in Iraq and Syria, rising tensions between Turkey and Turkey-affiliated groups on the one hand and Iran and Iran-backed groups on the other, have put the two...

The EU and Germany have set themselves ambitious climate and energy policy targets. Taking into account the need to reduce emissions from all sectors of the economy, they now have a different perspective on the energy situation in the Eastern Mediterranean than a few years ago.

Russia's attack on Ukraine has once again highlighted Europe's heavy dependence on Russian natural gas and thus, among other things, underlined the significance of energy cooperation between the European Union (EU) and Turkey. Traditionally, Turkish-European energy relations have prioritised the...

Undermining the foundational pillars of the post-Cold War security order, Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine is a watershed event for Europe and the wider world, Tur­key included. While Ankara is trying to protect its economy and security interests, anti-Western narratives dominate the...