co-edited by Alissa Pavia & Riccardo Gasco

The NATO Summit in Ankara comes at a moment of strategic recalibration for the Alliance. More than four years after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, NATO’s agenda is no longer defi...

IstanPol, in collaboration with Beykoz University, held a closed roundtable on July 2, 2026, titled “NATO’s Southern Flank: The Middle East, Transatlantic Relations, and Türkiye&rsquo...

Riccardo Gasco, Dr. Seren Selvin Korkmaz, Dr. Edgar Sar

This article draws on the discussions held at the 22nd edition of IstanPol Foreign Policy Talks , organized in partnership with Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Türkiye under the title “Recalibrati...

The 22nd Foreign Policy Talks series, which brings together experts, researchers, academics, diplomats, and policymakers to discuss current foreign policy issues, was held in person by IstanPol in pa...

Riccardo Gasco & Dr. Federico Donelli

The weaponization of economic interdependence has made supply chains the primary arena of geopolitical competition. China's deliberate consolidation of critical mineral processing capacity — con...

The 21st Foreign Policy Talks series, which brings together experts, researchers, academics, and journalists to discuss current foreign policy issues, was held online by IstanPol  on March 10, 2...

Seren Selvin Korkmaz & Riccardo Gasco

The killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in joint U.S.–Israeli strikes on February 28 did more than decapitate a 47-year-long regime. It accelerated a regional recalibration that...

Dr. Edgar Şar

Democracy's retreat has become one of the defining political trends of the 21st century. Over the past two decades, a growing number of countries have experienced regime change away from democracy&mda...

The 20th Foreign Policy Talks  series, which brings together experts, researchers, academics, and journalists to discuss current foreign policy issues, was held online by IstanPol  ...

Riccardo Gasco

For Türkiye, the European Union’s (EU) accelerating trade diplomacy is no longer a distant story about Brussels’ external agenda. It is a direct stress test of Ankara’s structur...

edited by Riccardo Gasco

In 2025, Turkish foreign policy unfolded in a context marked by heightened strategic centrality and persistent political constraints. Rather than a year of radical shifts, it was one of consolidation,...

Riccardo Gasco, Seren Selvin Korkmaz, Dr. Edgar Şar

EU–Türkiye relations are entering a new phase defined by constrained pragmatism rather than political ambition. Russia’s war in Ukraine, instability across the Middle East, and the un...

Riccardo Gasco

Europe’s security order is being rapidly redrawn. The combination of Russia’s long-term threat, the erosion of the transatlantic safety net, and the urgency to rearm has pushed the Europea...

The 19th Foreign Policy Talks series, which brings together experts, researchers, academics, and journalists to discuss current foreign policy issues, was held online by IstanPol on November 18, 20...

edited by Ayşe Yürekli

At a time when Europe faces overlapping geopolitical, economic, and societal challenges, revitalizing the relationship between the European Union and Türkiye is not a matter of wishful thinking b...

Riccardo Gasco

Europe’s defense landscape is being redrawn in real time. The shock of the Ukraine war, the return of great-power rivalry, and doubts over U.S. commitment have pushed European states to rearm an...

The 18th Foreign Policy Talks series, which brings together experts, researchers, academics, and journalists to discuss current foreign policy issues, was held online by IstanPol on September 16, 2...

Prof. Dr. Özlem Tür

This analysis looks at the regional dynamics before and after the 12-Day War between Israel and Iran and analyzes the opportunities and challenges the War has presented for Türkiye. It argues tha...

IstanPol & Rawest

The study titled “A New Era in the Kurdish Issue: Public Perceptions and Attitudes in Türkiye” , jointly conducted by IstanPol and Rawest Research, was presented to civil society org...

IstanPol

The research titled “Changing Power Dynamics in the Middle East and Perceptions of Turkish Foreign Policy”  is based on a survey with 2,000 individuals across 21 provinces and 5...

The 17th installment of the Foreign Policy Talks , a series of closed roundtable meetings organized by IstanPol to bring together experts, researchers, academics, and journalists to discuss curren...

The Istanbul Political Research Institute (IstanPol), in collaboration with Rawest Research, presented the results of the study A New Era in the Kurdish Issue: Perceptions, Opinions, and Attitudes of...

edited by Riccardo Gasco

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has triggered a profound geopolitical shift, prompting European governments to reassess their security architectures, both at the national level and within broader f...

The Istanbul Political Research Institute (IstanPol), in collaboration with Rawest Research and the Kurdish Studies Center, held the roundtable discussion A New Era in the Kurdish Issue: Internal Dyn...

The Istanbul Political Research Institute (IstanPol) hosted a book discussion within the scope of the second edition of IstanPol Insight Exchange series on May 21, 2025 with Dr. Vasja Badalič , Seni...

As part of SOS4Democracy project, an Horizon Europe project conducted by a consortium of universities and NGOs from five European countries including IstanPol, we hosted an event in collaboration wit...

The 16th installment of the Foreign Policy Talks , a series of closed roundtable meetings organized by IstanPol to bring together experts, researchers, academics, and journalists to discuss curren...

Ayşe Yürekli

Germany’s snap federal elections on 23 February have set the stage for significant political shifts that will shape both domestic and foreign policy, especially as the new Trump administration c...

The Istanbul Political Research Institute (IstanPol) organized the first edition of IstanPol Insight Exchange series with a focus the Developments in Syria and Turkey-Syria Relations on March 6, 2025....

The 15th installment of the Foreign Policy Talks , a series of closed roundtable meetings organized by IstanPol to bring together experts, researchers, academics, and journalists to discuss current f...

The year 2024 was marked by a series of critical and consequential developments that reshaped Türkiye’s role on both the regional and global stages. The year began with Ankara’s ratif...

The 14th installment of the Foreign Policy Talks , a series of closed roundtable meetings organized by IstanPol to bring together experts, researchers, academics, and journalists to discuss current ...

Dr. Selin Nasi

Trump’s return to the White House will have profound implications not only for the future of American politics but also for the liberal democratic order—or what remains of it. Over the nex...

The 13th installment of the Foreign Policy Talks , a series of closed roundtable meetings organized by IstanPol to bring together experts, researchers, academics, and journalists to discuss current ...

Dr. Dimitar Bechev

Following U.S. presidential elections, Türkiye will exploit its role as a powerbroker in the Russia-Ukraine war. Ankara believes it could facilitate de-escalation which will help it assert its ro...

The Istanbul Political Research Institute (IstanPol), with the support of the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung Turkey Office, organized a roundtable meeting titled Debates on Turkey’s System of Governm...

Dr. Ömer Taşpınar

The following analysis focuses on U.S. election's impact on Turkish-American relations. Independent of who the winner of the 2024 presidential election in the United States is, Turkish-American relati...

Dr. Bengi Ruken Cengiz

Despite being one of the essential conditions of democracy and the ideal of equal citizenship, gender equality remains a distant reality in today’s politics. Ensuring the “visibility&...

Dr. Erol Sağlam, Seren Selvin Korkmaz, Gülşen Doğan, Nevzat Taşçı

This research examines voter orientations at the intersection of conspiracy theories and election campaigns prior to the May 14, 2023 elections. For this purpose, it delves into how the growing visibi...

Prof. Dr. Selva Demiralp

Turkey was hit by two massive earthquakes on February 6. Assessing the damage from the earthquakes is critical for developing policy measures to properly address the needs of the region. In this pol...

Dr. Cihan Dizdaroğlu, Dr. Pınar Sayan

As Turkey’s foreign policy preferences have increasingly been an important part of the national and international agenda, the "Main Conflicts in Turkey's Foreign Policy" report was prepared for ...

Dr. Pınar Sayan, Dr. Cihan Dizdaroğlu

The ‘Approaches to and Perceptions of Foreign Policy in Turkey’ research project is led by the Foreign Policy team at Istanbul Political Research Institute (IstanPol). Within the scope of ...

Dr. Cem Çakmaklı

In this analysis, Dr. Cem Çakmaklı discusses the concept of "Statistics Literacy" and its importance in policy decision-making. Dr. Çakmaklı elaborates on this relatively novel concept b...

Dr. M. Murat Kubilay

In this policy note, M. Murat Kubilay analyzes the different dimensions of youth unemployment. A record-high number of jobless young people, their striking demand for higher education, low labor force...

The roundtable meeting, Development and Poverty: Turkey's Economic Future , organized by Istanbul Political Research Institute (IstanPol), was held on Monday, October 17th. At the meeting, which was m...

Dr. Bengi Ruken Cengiz

In this policy note, Dr. Bengi R. Cengiz discusses the hardships female politicians encounter by focusing on the Turkish context. Cengiz investigates the structural, institutional and cultural barrier...

Gökçe Şencan

In this policy note, Gökçe Şencan analyzes the recent trends in Turkey's food inflation from multiple angles compared to global trends, by crop types and food items, and in relation t...

Prof. Dr. Selva Demiralp

In this policy note, Prof. Dr. Selva Demiralp discusses the notion of “central bank indepedence” by contextualising it around Turkey’s experience. Demiralp delves into the reasons as...

Assoc. Prof. Şebnem Yardımcı-Geyikçi

In this policy note, Assoc. Prof. Şebnem Yardımcı-Geyikçi comparatively analyzes the Political Parties Law in Turkey based on the recent discussions in the relevant literature and comes up with...

Dr. Esra İşsever-Ekinci

In this policy paper, Dr. Esra İşsever-Ekinci evaluates the existing electoral systemin Turkey as well as the curre...