GEOPOLIST - Istanbul Center for Geopolitics

Responding to a question about the opening-of-the-legislative-year reception, Özgür Özel said: “Party leaders are being subjected to unfair treatment. I called Tuncer Bakırhan, Ali Babacan, Ahmet Davutoğlu, and Mr. Müsavat [Dervişoğlu]. What began as a simple invitation has shifted into a tone that

trivializes—or even ignores—the strong opposition parties that stand together for democracy and their solidarity, unsettling both their leaders and their members. I expressed my regret about this.”

Erdogan (yesterday): "God willing, history will inscribe in golden letters that, because of our backbone in Gaza, the Republic of Turkey stood as the monument of conscience of its era."👇

Meanwhile, DEM cadres greet Erdoğan with “Esteemed President, Chairman,” with hands crossed in exaggerated respect. Autocracy isn’t destiny—it’s furnished by puppets in opposition costumes.👇

Erdoğan Can’t Cancel the CHP—He Needs It

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newsaboutturkey.com/2025/09/15/e...

We’ve been saying it for months:'legitimacy'. Barrack said the quiet part out loud-—clearly following our analysis. A little credit to GEOPOLIST / News About Turkey (NAT) next time?😉👇

2-...In the photo, our national pride KAAN is behind us; and we, for our part, will stand behind KAAN to the very end.”

1- In his social media post, Özel said: “The journey that began in 1973 has been full of obstacles and difficulties, but we have full confidence in Turkish engineers and workers in reaching the critical goal. Our KAAN draws its strength not from abroad, but from our nation...👇

From day one as CHP leader, Özel has played validator-in-chief—turning crises into photo-ops. The regime’s real currency is legitimacy; he keeps minting it for free.👇

"...However, the senior insiders like Fidan are both architects and witnesses to the most controversial chapters of the last decade—before, during, and after July 2016—and therefore too valuable (or too risky) to leave unattended..."👇
newsaboutturkey.com/2025/09/30/l...

1- "...Against this tableau, the fairest reading is the simplest: Fidan turned a wonky procurement hurdle into a leadership trial. It also wouldn’t be surprising, in this climate, if President Erdoğan reassigns or sidelines Fidan in the near future. Erdoğan has repeatedly reshuffled cabinets...

2-... and top posts to rebalance inner-circle dynamics and message discipline—elevating allies one year, rotating portfolios the next, and changing high-salience jobs with little warning. From the 2023 post-election reset to periodic ministerial swaps since 2021 and even this summer’s senior...

2-...communications change, the pattern is established: mobility is a tool of control..."

Licenses on Hold, Succession in Motion Turkey’s foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, recently said in New York that export licenses from the U.S. Congress for General Electric F110 engines are “stalled,” adding that KAAN fighter production canno...

Licenses on Hold, Succession in Motion newsaboutturkey.com/2025/09/30/l...

1- "...The timing matters: Turkey’s succession talk has moved from whispers to open positioning. We’ve (NAT) argued for months that two tracks now overlap: a dynastic path with Bilal Erdoğan—the heir Erdoğan prefers to succeed him—and a technocratic path in which Fidan markets himself...

2-... as the competent steward of constraints..."

Öcalan warns AKP against “false victory” narrative as Kurdish peace talks stall Jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan has accused Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of trying to manufacture a sense that it has already defeated the PKK, warning that Kurds “have altern...

Öcalan warns AKP against “false victory” narrative as Kurdish peace talks stall newsaboutturkey.com/2025/09/30/o...

We’ve been saying it for months:'legitimacy'. Barrack said the quiet part out loud-—clearly following our analysis. A little credit to GEOPOLIST / News About Turkey (NAT) next time?😉👇

Özel calls the litigation track “risky” because it could further “weaken the rule of law“,his assurance that “not all judges are under Erdoğan’s control” serves as a legitimacy voucher, used whenever the government needs to claim the courts are independent enough
newsaboutturkey.com/2025/09/11/b...

So, about those Eurofighters Turkey was ‘about to buy’—did they fly off, or were they only meant to spook Washington like Bahçeli’s TRC (Turkey-Russia-China axis) daydream?👇

1- Once again, Turkey’s hopeless opposition is celebrating reports that Germany has vetoed the sale of Eurofighter jets to Ankara. But as we explained years ago, Erdoğan’s Turkey was never genuinely interested in the Eurofighter program. The West—especially the United States, which desperately needs

2- …Turkey strategically—was always likely to resume arms sales, including the eventual reinstatement of the F-35 program, once the F-16 deal was secured. These latest developments only validate the analysis we offered years ago, particularly in relation to the F-35.

On the Eve of White House Talks, #Turkey Sends AWACS to Lithuania as #Trump Hints at Fast-Track Sanctions Relief
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newsaboutturkey.com/2025/09/26/o...

On the Eve of White House Talks, Turkey Sends AWACS to Lithuania as Trump Hints at Fast-Track Sanctions Relief Turkey has quietly sent an airborne early-warning and control aircraft to Lithuania this week, bolstering NATO’s air picture over the Baltic Sea just hours before President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s meet...

On the Eve of White House Talks, Turkey Sends AWACS to Lithuania as Trump Hints at Fast-Track Sanctions Relief newsaboutturkey.com/2025/09/26/o...

"...As we have cautioned, this “managed transition” model dangerously concentrates power. In effect, Turkey is being—if it hasn’t already been—steered away from competitive autocracy toward a dynastic autocracy..."
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newsaboutturkey.com/2025/09/23/y...

After Trump’s comment below, what’s the competitive-authoritarianism chorus in academia saying about Turkey—anything new?::)))👇

The very voices that later castigated Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu for the 2023 loss—and claimed he kept Ekrem İmamoğlu off the ballot—are now breathlessly sharing Trump’s “He knows about rigged elections better than anybody…” quip as if it were a revelation. Same crowd, same reflex—utterly spineless.

Tom Barrack: "...You have a country that's been our greatest ally in NATO. NATO being Europe and Europe won't him let into the European Union. He's our greatest ally..."👇

This is another hallmark Erdoğan tactic: figures like Süleyman Soylu and Numan Kurtulmuş once used blistering language against their now-boss while they were in the opposition

1- In the 1950s, a close relative was a small-town mayor in Turkey. A troubled local man—often angry, sometimes abusive—kept blocking his path to demand a job, cursing him when he didn’t get one. The mayor's guards wanted to rough him up; instead, the mayor hired him as a tea and errands helper.👇