Güven Sak, PhD
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Turkey ranked 33rd among 190 countries
In the World Bank’s 2019 Doing Business Survey, Turkey was among the top 10 reformers. It has not been able to hold on to this position in the 2020 report that was just…
A passage to Europe
Let me start with a bit of wonderful news: Next Tuesday, November 5, the Chang’an Cargo Train (a.k.a. China Railway Express) is to make a short stop in Ankara. It is…
It’s all about the refugees
It was Tip O’Neill, a former speaker of the US House of Representatives, who said that “all politics is local.” Joe Biden, then Vice President of US, clarified the…
Turkey is waiting for the other shoe to drop
I like how Urban Dictionary explained this idiom: “A guest who checked into an inn one night was warned to be quiet because the guest in the room next to his was a light…
Brexit is a bigger problem for the Turkish economy than Syria
I was recently asked how badly Turkey’s military operation in Syria could affect the already troubled economy. Could this move, my inquisitor wanted to know, be the last…
An Orwellian new Commission for Europe?
Ursula von der Leyen, the President-elect of the European Commission, announced the names of her commissioners this week. I was first struck by the name of the new job…
From Emrullah Efendi to Boris Johnson
The Brexit process started like a tragedy and with Boris Johnson as the British Prime Minister, it has turned into a comedy. I have to confess that it is getting funnier…
Watching “New India” from Turkey
On August 5, India revoked Article 370 of its constitution, effectively ending the special status of Kashmir, a territory that borders on Pakistan and China. To guard…
An FTA would be a good idea, Mr. Graham
It was in the papers this week: for the first time in history, the number of $100 bills have exceeded the number of $1 bills, and apparently, 70 percent of those $100…
How to make Syrians more invisible in Turkey
There are around 3.6 million Syrian refugees in Turkey, and nearly half of them are children. That number plateaued this past year, but we in Turkey’s big cities didn’t…
What Europe should know about North Cyprus
Last week, Turkey saw its first current account surplus in 16 years. That would be cause for celebration if it wasn’t due to the Lira’s rapid depreciation, and the deep…
The lessons from Turkey’s election season
Turkish politics will be on a much-appreciated break this week, as President Erdoğan makes his way to Osaka for the G20 summit. The Istanbul rerun is over. After Japan,…