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The "Freedom Falcons of Kurdistan" Thwart the Ceasefire

Only a few days after the PKK offered a ceasefire agreement to the Turkish state, the "Freedom Falcons of Kurdistan" carried out a number of terrorist attacks. Ömer Erzeren believes that they were a sign the Kurdish movement doesn't know which direction it's going in

Growing Influence of the Hezbollah

A new political movement is making headlines in the Kurdish region of southeastern Turkey – the Islamist Hezbollah. Organized in small groups and modeled after the Palestinian Hamas movement, it is primarily active in ghettos where refugees live. Amalia van Gent reports

Attack on the Turkish Constitution

In early June, Turkey's Constitutional Court declared the lifting of the ban on headscarves in public institutions as unconstitutional. Ülkü Azrak, an expert in Turkish administrative law, explains the decision from a legal perspective and sees it as an indication of an impending ban on the AKP

A Yearning for Peace

Erdogan's government plans to grant twelve million Kurds more freedom of language and other democratic rights in an attempt to end the 25-year Kurdish conflict. Nationalists, however, are already up in arms at the prospect. Ömer Erzeren reports

Is the Glass Half Empty or Fully Empty?

Recent moves in Turkey to address the country's long-standing "Kurdish issue", although initially welcomed by the nation's Kurds, are increasingly being questioned, with many beginning to doubt whether the efforts are comprehensive or sincere enough to succeed. Ayşe Karabat reports

Football Diplomacy Starts to Bear Fruits

Turkey and Armenia decided to establish ties due to a process started for the World Cup qualifying game. But just like in football the process faces risks, even off-side, as Ayşe Karabat reports

"Turkey Needs a Mentality Revolution"

Ishak Alaton is one of Turkey's most influential businesspeople of Jewish extraction. Hülya Sancak spoke to him in Istanbul about the current political situation in Turkey and minority rights for Jews, Kurds and Armenians in the country

Is the End in Sight?

The Turkish government has accelerated efforts to shape a plan to solve the country's long-standing Kurdish problem, but even before the plan's details have been announced the opposition has started to criticize it, a sure sign of the difficulties ahead. By Ayşe Karabat

Tentative Steps towards Reconciliation in Northern Iraq

Turkish-Kurdish relations have historically been difficult and fraught with conflict. However, a recent conference in the autonomous province of Kurdistan in northern Iraq indicates a move in the direction of reconciliation. Günter Seufert reports

More Power to the Powers That Be

The Iraqi jurist Naseef Naeem has completed a study which closely examines the emergence, framing, and consolidation of the new Iraqi constitution. The main flaw of this constitution, says Naeem, is that it grants the central government too little power. Sebastian Sons presents the study