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 Government and the Search for Dialogue on October 31, 2024. The meeting brought together journalists, academics, political party representatives, and think tank professionals to discuss the challenges and possible solutions related to Turkey’s system of government. Ongoing debates on dialogue and normalization in politics, as well as the new constitution discussions, were addressed within the broader framework of system reform.

The first session, titled Revisiting System Debates: Needs and Proposals, featured contributions from Gökhan Günaydın, Deputy Chair of the CHP Parliamentary Group, Serap Yazıcı Özbudun, Constitutional Law Scholar and MP for the Future Party in Antalya, Ekrem Ali Akartürk, Constitutional Law Scholar, and Lütfullah Kayalar, İYİ Party MP for Yozgat. The session was moderated by Edgar Şar, Co-Director of IstanPol.

The second session focused on Current Trends and Societal Demands in System Debates. Speakers included Ertan Aksoy, President of Aksoy Research, Yunus Emre, CHP MP for Istanbul, Ece Güner, Lawyer and Advisor to the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, and Şule Özsoy Boyunsuz, Constitutional Law Scholar. The session was moderated by journalist Gökçe Çiçek Kösedağı.

The third session, titled Searching for Alternative Political Grounds: Normalization, Dialogue, and System Debates, featured Ayşegül Doğan, Spokesperson of the DEM Party and MP for Şırnak, Nesrin Nas, former Chair of ANAP, İdris Şahin, Spokesperson of the DEVA Party and MP for Ankara, and Reha Ruhavioğlu, Director of the Kurdish Studies Center. The session was moderated by Seren Selvin Korkmaz, Co-Director of IstanPol.