Tũrkish Pulse

by Martin Aslan A new attack in Türkiye has triggered a fourth Turkish military intervention in Syria. The consequences of this new Turkish military operation could further deteriorate the social and security situation in the region. Syria is gradually losing control of its sovereignty to third countries such as Russia and Türkiye. On 13 November, another attack hit Istanbul on the busy Istiklal Avenue. This cowardly act left six people dead and 81 injured. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan immediately promised that those responsible for this vile attack would be unmasked and punished. A few hours later, one person was arrested. Although the presumed perpetrator of this attack was of Syrian nationality, the Turkish authorities were quick to accuse the PYD 1 and the PKK. The day after the attack, 46 people were arrested. This event comes at a time when Türkiye is doing everything it can to launch a new military operation in northern Syria against Kurdish groups affiliated with the...

by Martin Aslan From a formal point of view, Türkiye is a democratic country. But in reality it is gradually moving away from its democratic principles and adopting an authoritarian rationale. The new referendum that Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is calling for puts Türkiye on this path. A democracy can give rise to an authoritarian regime Democracy is a political system in which power is held and controlled by the people. Democracy is usually representative. The majority of votes cast in elections gives power to representatives. Major decisions can be put to the people through a referendum. This was the case on 16 April 2017 in Türkiye to validate the new constitution of 1982. The constitution is the founding text of the functioning of the State. This functioning, while it is in conformity with the constitution, can however lead to an authoritarian organisation by presenting the population with a fait accompli. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's strategy, since he came to power, has put Türkiye in thi...

by Martin Aslan Mafia clans involved in numerous traffics Turkiye has a unique position, being located between Asia and Europe. It is in fact on a logistic corridor, on which legal but also illegal commercial transit occurs. What used to be smuggling before the 1970s has evolved into the arms trade, drug trafficking and human trafficking. Implemented on the basis of a tribal, clan or even family organization, such a system can be considered mafia-like. These groups originate from Turkish, Kurdish, Greek, and Armenian communities, but they still act based on the principle of mutual respect. In the 1980s, mafia activities took on another dimension. Indeed, given the nature and character of the trafficking, one can be certain that the administration is corrupt and political personalities are involved. Heterogeneous mafia groups The origins of Turkish mafia groups are disparate. There are Kurdish clans sometimes close to the PKK and Turkish clans, some of which are close to the Grey Wolves...

  by Martin Aslan On the international stage, Türkiye stands out as a unique country due to its political paradoxes. It is a NATO member, yet it purchases weapons from Russia. It is the only country in the world able to apply for membership of the European Union (EU) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) at the same time, the latter being an institution created by China. It does so while asserting its commitment to defending Turkish peoples, including the persecuted Uighurs in China. Above all, Türkiye achieves a tour de force by sheltering Hamas while getting closer to Israel, thus reaching the height of contradictions.  What do these contradictions mean? On what policy are they based? Do they really serve Türkiye's interests? Türkiye and NATO Ankara joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in 1952 in the context of the Cold War. Indeed, the gateway from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean through the straits of the Bosphorus and the Dardanelles put Türki...

SADAT is not liked by everyone: Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu criticized the company, saying it was arming terrorists. by Martin Aslan Private security companies / private military companies (PMC), are considered as private actors intervening for the benefit of other private companies, NGOs, but also states which do not have sufficient expertise or capacity in the field of security. PMCs intervene in the following fields: logistics in war zones, training, security and protection of goods and people. This need has been growing since the 1990s with the Afghan and Iraqi conflicts. Against the backdrop of potentially growing abuses by some PMCs, a text on legal obligations and good practices for states regarding the use and operations of PMCs emerged in 2014 with the Montreux Document. This document is the result of a cooperative initiative between Switzerland and the International Committee of the Red Cross. It was developed with the participation of gov...

by Martin Aslan Historical Roots Iran, one of the world’s oldest civilizations, dates back to the 4th millennium BCE. Archaeological evidence reveals the establishment of cities and social systems during this era. Over centuries, Iran’s position at the crossroads of Asia, the Caucasus, and the West enriched its history through successive empires, dynasties, and cultural exchanges. In the modern Islamic period, the nation’s conversion to Shiism in the 16th century became a defining moment. This change, coupled with resistance to Ottoman influence, shaped its independent evolution. European intervention in the mid-19th century introduced a new chapter, culminating in the rise of Reza Shah Pahlavi in 1925. His authoritarian rule consolidated national unity through forced sedentarization, reforms, and increased oil revenues, negotiated with the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company in 1933. During World War II, Britain and the USSR occupied Iran, forcing Reza Shah to abdicate in favor of his son, Moha...

by Martin Aslan Anwar R. was declared guilty of torture by the Higher Regional Court in Koblenz. This decision means a lot for the victims and their relatives but also for Syria, Germany and for justice worldwide. I have done research on this issue and talked to Syrians to understand the background. In this article, I would like to present this matter so that it becomes clear even for those who are not specialist of Syria. Why were people tortured in Syria? Bashar al-Assad's father, Hafez al-Assad, had already used torture against the opposition. He had established an organized torture system in 1982 after the bloody suppression of a Muslim Brotherhood uprising. The system had two goals: To gather information about the opposition and to intimidate people so that the uprising would not reoccur. As the Arab Spring spread through Syria, Bashar al-Assad used his father's strategy again. In the city of Dara'a, teenagers had made graffiti critical of the government and were arres...