Nihat Ali Özcan, PhD
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On Israeli-PKK relations – II
After the Cold War, Turkish-Israeli relations took a new shape. Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait was a source of trouble for both parties. Saddam, who was then in…
On Israeli-PKK relations - I
Tension between Turkey and Israel is continuing with conflicting interpretations of events, as well as doses of verbal warfare. It is remarkable that the debate is so…
Guidelines for beginners to understanding civil-military relations in Turkey: Part IV
Today I will focus on how the developments mentioned in the previous analysis affect the Turkish Armed Forces, or TSK. Understandably, the AKP government and its allies…
Guidelines for beginners to understand civil-military relations in Turkey: III
From the first days of the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, rule onward, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan knew that some generals were not happy with the new…
Guidelines for beginners to understand civil-military relations in Turkey: II
In 1999, the generals fully supported the government in making Turkey's ambition for EU membership a "state policy". They demonstrated their will by including that…
Guidelines for beginners to understand civil-military relations in Turkey: Part I
Last week's generals' resignations received wide coverage both by media and on the agenda of the political elite. So much attention could be extraordinary for some…
Do you think Erdoğan is happy with the mass resignation of the generals?
There are two essential political actors who managed the period that has ended up with the resignations of the generals. First is President Abdullah Gül, and second is…
How can the PKK problem be managed? Lessons learned from Erdoğan
Since 1972, Turkey has been struggling against the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, that has the desire to found "an independent Kurdish state." The problem is quite…
How can Turkey benefit from Gen Petraeus’ experience?
Last week, Turkey had an important visitor: Hillary Rodham Clinton, the U.S. secretary of state. Her appearance on TV overlooking the Bosphorus with President Abdullah…
Arab Spring, ‘model’ debate and the Turkish experience
Three distinct groups of people believe that Turkish democracy was built after the 2002 general elections. First are some cunning Westerners. They present Turkey as an…
Israeli army doing its homework
Statistics show the number of inter-state conflicts after the end of the Cold War has considerably decreased. Nevertheless, the role of soldiers in security issues has…
Will Turkey risk fighting with Syria?
U.S. taxpayers have spent $ 1 trillion on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many Western soldiers have lost lives there as well. No one in the United States or in the…