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
In the war in Ukraine, which has dragged on for four months now, the deployment of military drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) was expected to be a game changer. The reality, however, has not lived up to the promise—for either side in the conflict. Both Ukraine and Russia have
Turkey’s ruling coalition, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), pursues new legislation that muzzles dissident voices on the Internet and social media as Turkey heads into another election cycle. Contrary to how the bill is presented as a legal framework against disinformation and misinformation, it
NATO membership for Sweden and Finland undoubtedly has the power to change the security architecture in Europe. Often overlooked, however, are the potentially significant consequences in a much different region—the Arctic. Inclusion of the Nordic states in the NATO alliance would mean that all members of the Arctic Council—except Russia—will
The efforts by Turkey to block Sweden and Finland from becoming a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization have led to confusion and frustration within the alliance. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan voiced Turkey’s opposition to NATO expansion, and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) followed with similar remarks.
