Sude Doğan - Weekly Articles (Haftalık Yazılar)

Civil Coups and Collective Memory: Have We Forgotten 2020? With the annulment of Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu’s diploma, reactions have erupted across Turkey. Many believe this is President Erdoğan’s attempt to eliminate his biggest political rival. This intervention against İmamoğlu is seen as yet another link in the chain of pressure on opposition figures in Turkey. After all, figures like Selahattin Demirtaş and Ümit Özdağ have also been under judicial scrutiny for years for various reasons. Leading international media outlets have interpreted this situation as a sign of democratic backsliding in Turkey. Headlines scream: “The Turkish people’s right to vote and be elected is being usurped; this is a major human rights violation.” Indeed, what is happening in Turkey is a civil coup against the will of the people. However, there is one thing that Turkish Cypriots must not forget —this is not the first civil coup orchestrated by the system. * Of course, Turkish Cyprio...

  Turkey's Growing Importance for the EU: How Will This Impact the Cyprus Issue? "Once seen as a 'peculiar' partner, Turkey has become indispensable for a weakened European Union," read headlines from various European newspapers. The fact that Turkey—home to NATO’s second-largest army and an active player in the Russia-Ukraine conflict via the Black Sea—was not invited to the meeting hosted by Emmanuel Macron with EU and NATO member states to support Ukraine has been described by political analysts as a "strategic mistake." Following the disastrous Zelenskyy-Trump meeting at the White House last week, it has become increasingly clear that Trump will not support Ukraine. As a result, a disillusioned EU, having lost hope in the U.S., is now looking to Turkey’s military strength for support. A quarter of a century ago, Turkey was an eager candidate for EU membership. However, years of distancing from Brussels, escalating diplomatic tensions with Paris and...

  US-Ukraine Relations Strain: Troubling Days Ahead for the EU The latest developments regarding the United States’ stance on the war in Ukraine have underscored the need to examine the European Union’s geopolitical role from a broader perspective. What is certain is that relations between Europe and the United States have been affected by their differing approaches to the war in Ukraine, and tensions have escalated compared to the pre-Trump era. US-Ukraine relations have largely deteriorated, especially after the contentious White House meeting between Trump and Zelensky. EU leaders, during a defense and security summit held in Brussels, discussed their continued support for Ukraine and efforts to reduce their dependence on the US by establishing a more autonomous European defense. This summit revealed divisions within the EU, as Hungary and Slovakia supported Trump’s plan. These countries have maintained a cautious stance regarding the deployment of European military forces to ...