Insights into Turkish Domestic and International Politics
November – December 2015
By John VanPool, EGF Turkey and Black Sea Guest Analyst

Key Points:

• Predictions of the AKP’s demise have been greatly exaggerated as the party is swept back into power in the November elections.
• Months of renewed violence between the state, the PKK and terrorist attacks by the Islamic State plunge Turkey into an increasingly dangerous security situation.
• Turkey and Russia relations deteriorate as the former downed an encroaching Russian fighter as it crossed into Turkish air space.
• The Middle East closes the year with no end to the violent upheavals that have roiled the region since the uprisings of the Arab Spring. Yet security and economic necessities appear to be drawing Turkey and Israel closer to an agreement on the renewal of relations following the fallout from the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident.

• November 1, 2015

A United Nations human rights investigator on Thursday raised concerns that North Korea has forced more than 50,000 people to work abroad and urged countries where they have been sent, mainly Russia and China, to grant him access to investigate.

• October 29, 2015

Washington stuck to its demand on Thursday that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad leave power, ahead of peace talks which will include Assad's main ally Iran for the first time, reflecting his stronger position since Russia joined the war on his side.

• October 29, 2015

Turkey's election on Sunday could mark a turning point in relations with the European Union, either bolstering President Tayyip Erdogan's bid to accumulate more power or putting a check on a leader many in Europe accuse of creeping authoritarianism.

• October 29, 2015

Militants in Afghanistan who have switched sides to Islamic State pose a growing risk to Central Asia, Alexander Bortnikov, the head of Russia's Federal Security Service, was quoted as saying by the RIA news agency on Wednesday.

• October 28, 2015

Russia's intervention in Syria is "not going particularly well" and it should instead push for political transition in the country, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's deputy Antony Blinken told France 24 television.

• October 28, 2015

Upcoming Syrian peace talks will be meaningful only if all relevant parties take part in the discussions, the White House said on Wednesday, adding that Iran's invitation to participate does not absolve it of any role in the crisis.

• October 28, 2015

France will host talks on the Syria conflict on Tuesday with representatives from the United States, Europe, Jordan and Turkey but without Syria's allies Russia and Iran, the foreign ministry said.

• October 27, 2015