Turkey

It has been a year since the February 6th earthquakes ripped through southern Turkey and northern Syria. The 7.8 magnitude quake and several tremors directly affected more than 9.1 million people in Turkey, among them 1.7 million Syrian and numerous other refugees. The next day found the country shaken by a wave of anti-refugee policies and rhetoric never seen before. What is the situation today in Turkey, which continues to be the world’s largest refugee-hosting country?

Interview with Hamide Ayaz, whose house collapsed in the conflicts in Sur, Sociologist Mihriban İlbaş, and Selma Aslan, Co-Chair of the Diyarbakır Branch of the Chamber of Architects, about the earthquake houses undertaken by TOKİ and their impact on women's lives. 

While the world's attention is focused on the war in Ukraine, the next conflict at the EU's external border is already brewing in the eastern Aegean. Often overlooked: the tensions between Greece and Turkey are neither new, nor politically irrational.

The veiling experiences of two LGBTI+ women in Turkey open questions about the discursive constructions of femininity, masculinity, piousness, LGBTI+ secularity, and how these are used in political rhetoric.

In the past months, Turkey has prosecuted students who have displayed rainbow flags in Istanbul, indicating a pattern of state-induced political homophobia and violence against marginalized groups, together with the motivation to delegitimize the political opposition in Turkey and elsewhere.

Turkish President Erdogan, usually a friend of many and often harsh words, needed almost a week before he took a stand on the Taliban takeover in Kabul.

As part of a larger geopolitical region, the Wider Black Sea requires greater commitment from the EU in the areas of security, renewable energy, and connectivity. Turkey and Russia are the key competitors for influence and resources in the region.