Syria Moves One Step Closer to Ending the Civil War Syria Moves One Step Closer to Ending the Civil War
Each player had its reasons for not going forward with a cataclysmic offensive against the last rebel stronghold, in Idlib.
Oct 17, 2018 / Roy Gutman
Showdown in Afrin: Turkey’s Attack on Syria’s Kurds Threatens That Country’s Most Democratic, Pluralist Force Showdown in Afrin: Turkey’s Attack on Syria’s Kurds Threatens That Country’s Most Democratic, Pluralist Force
The Kurds have said they will fight to the death before they give up an inch of Afrin.
Jan 26, 2018 / Meredith Tax
In Turkey, Repression of the Kurdish Language Is Back, With No End in Sight In Turkey, Repression of the Kurdish Language Is Back, With No End in Sight
Since 2015, scores of Kurdish media organizations, associations, language schools, and cultural institutions have been shut down.
Dec 21, 2017 / Constanze Letsch
Turkey Is Sliding Deeper Into Dictatorship Turkey Is Sliding Deeper Into Dictatorship
The arrest of noted human-rights defender Osman Kavala marks an escalation in the Erdoğan government’s ferocious campaign against all critics.
Nov 7, 2017 / Constanze Letsch
Turkey’s Great Terror Turkey’s Great Terror
Recep Erdogan has turned his country into a gulag state, branding millions of citizens as terrorists.
Aug 11, 2017 / Juan Cole
ISIS’s Days in Syria Are Numbered, but Does Trump Have More Wars to Fight There? ISIS’s Days in Syria Are Numbered, but Does Trump Have More Wars to Fight There?
Both Damascus and Ankara are afraid Washington may establish a long-term military base in the Syrian Kurdish northeast.
Aug 3, 2017 / Juan Cole
US Arms Syrian Kurds—and Turkey’s Erdogan Cries ‘Terrorism’ Ahead of Trump Meeting US Arms Syrian Kurds—and Turkey’s Erdogan Cries ‘Terrorism’ Ahead of Trump Meeting
Ankara fears it will help the Kurds form a federal ethnic province in Syria, and thus give the Turkish Kurds ideas.
May 12, 2017 / Juan Cole
After Turkey’s Referendum, the Clampdown Continues—but Activists Pledge Resistance After Turkey’s Referendum, the Clampdown Continues—but Activists Pledge Resistance
“We do not consider these results legitimate and we don’t accept them,” says one opposition leader.
Apr 28, 2017 / Jesse Rosenfeld
Is Turkey’s War on Syrian Kurds Becoming a War on the United States? Is Turkey’s War on Syrian Kurds Becoming a War on the United States?
President Erdogan seems to believe he can bully Trump into abandoning his allies in the fight against ISIS.
Apr 28, 2017 / Juan Cole
Turkey’s Fateful Referendum: The Road to Dictatorship? Turkey’s Fateful Referendum: The Road to Dictatorship?
If it passes this Sunday, the country will adopt a presidential system, but without the checks and balances that constrain President Erdogan’s power.
Apr 12, 2017 / Umar Farooq