The news about the downing of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s plane was not unexpected. What was more surprising was the time that passed between Prigozhin’s attempted mutiny and his reported death. Mr. Putin does not forget the people who betray him. So, the fact that Prigozhin was allowed to walk free for
The killing of Prigozhin has understandably elicited many analyses of Russia as a lawless mafia state. There’s something to that interpretation. But, it’s also somewhat sweeping and risks caricaturing the Putin regime. In fact, Putin often prefers to rule through law, and in particular, he often although not always seeks
Orion Policy Institute held a live webinar on the 2023 Turkish presidential elections. The conversation covered the takeaways from the first round of elections and projections for the run-off that will be held on May 28, 2023.
On Sunday, May 14, Turkey is gearing up for one of its most pivotal and momentous elections in recent history, poised to shape the country’s future for decades to come. The outcome of this election holds immense significance, not only in determining the fate of the ruling Justice and Development
With its primary mission of protecting Turkey’s sovereignty and promoting peace in the region, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) plays a crucial role in national defense and humanitarian aid. Nevertheless, recent incidents have raised questions about its effectiveness in carrying out these tasks. After the attempted coup on July 15,
Since 2001, the role and efficacy of military drones in modern operations have been discussed and broadly publicized by the media, scholars, and military personnel. The wide employment of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in recent conflicts such as the Western Libya military campaign of the Second Libyan Civil War (2019–2020),
Especially in natural disasters, emergency management is a critical function of any government. However, in countries with a rigidly centralized government such as Turkey, emergency management is mainly the responsibility of the central government because it shares only very limited authority with local administrations. Therefore, it is the government that
Turkey is facing one of the worst disasters in its modern history just weeks before its most critical elections. Two major earthquakes, with magnitudes of 7.8 and 7.5, rocked southeast Turkey within 10 hours on February 6. They struck a large area including 10 provinces with 13 million people. Winter
In the latest episode of Orion Talks, Suat Cubukcu hosts Professor Kapucu from the University of Central Florida to discuss the recent devastating earthquakes that struck Turkey and Syria on February 6th. With over two decades of teaching and research experience in crisis and emergency management, Professor Kapucu shares his
Turkey’s long-lasting Kurdish issue, which embodies the political, economic, and cultural problems that Kurds have faced over the past century, has become more complicated than ever, largely due to the Syrian conflict and the upcoming presidential election in 2023. Not only has the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) Syria
The NATO 2022 Strategic Concept, which was adopted at the NATO summit held in Madrid on June 29-30, 2022, is intended to guide NATO’s activities for the next 10 years. The document describes not only NATO’s enduring purpose and character but also its core security missions, the potential difficulties and
Turkish voters will go to the polls in June 2023 to elect their president and members of the parliament. As cliché as this may sound, the results of these elections will decide the fate of not only President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) but also
