Tũrkish Pulse

by Martin Aslan Since the onset of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, a new wave of far-right Turkic solidarity has been rising amongst Turkish volunteers and lead to the creation of the Turan battalion. Their involvement, while not endorsed by any Ankara officials, highlights the complex dynamics of foreign volunteerism in the conflict and the rise of a renewed Panturkism, fueled by far-right ideology. The Turan Battalion: A Panturkic Initiative Established on November 20, 2022, the Turan Battalion is a unit of volunteers enlisting individuals from Turkic-speaking nations, including Türkiye, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, amongst others. Founded by Aidos Sadyqov, a Kazakh opposition activist, the battalion is led by Almaz Kudabek Uulu, a Kyrgyz national who previously worked as a hairdresser in Kyiv. The name ‘Turan’ refers to the ancient mythical homeland of Turkic populations in Central Asia. The battalion embraces a Panturkist ideology that is dating back to ...

by Martin Aslan Türkiye is playing a dangerous diplomatic game with its Libyan partners and places itself in the middle of a potentially explosive situation. Türkiye-backed western Libya is in the edge of internal conflict due the tensions rising between armed groups related to the Government of National Unity (GNU). Instead of resolving this problem by diplomatic means, Türkiye is moving closer to the clan of Marshal Khalifa Haftar, which had previously opposed the GNU. Ankara appears to be attempting a change of alliance. This rapprochement is all the more hazardous because Marshal Haftar's presumed successor is his own son, General Saddam Haftar, who is particularly known for embezzling funds and violating human rights. While claiming to be dealing with Libya's fundamental problems in the general interest, Türkiye is actually driven by its economic ambitions. The benefits of a divided Libya Since the 2011 uprising during the Arab Spring, which culminated in the overthrow of ...