Clément Plaisant

In my latest blog post, I review and highlight a selection of key articles from this week that provide valuable perspectives on #Turkey’s domestic and foreign policy developments. The post covers a range of topics, including: 1⃣The tenth anniversary of the failed coup attempt, featuring contributions by Lisel Hintz (@LiselHintz) /Hakkı Taş (@hakkitash), and Barış Özkul (@Barzkul6), as well as an interview with Hakan Şahin (@hakanexlieu) published in Evrensel. 2⃣The ongoing peace process between the Turkish government and the PKK, including the latest analysis by Cuma Çiçek for Birikim (@birikimdergisi) 3⃣Public perceptions of NATO in Turkey, highlighting the findings of the latest survey conducted by IstanPol (@istanpolinst) 4⃣Turkey’s mediation efforts, featuring recent research papers by Dareen Khalifa and Berkay Mandıracı, as well as by Pınar Akpınar (@pinarakpinar) and Ahmet Erdi Öztürk (@ahmeterdiozturk) 5⃣Turkey’s achievements at the latest NATO summit in Ankara, including an analysis by Ziya Öniş (@ZiyaOnis) and a commentary by Aaron Stein (@aaronstein1) Link:clmentplaisant.substack.com/p/this-weeks-r…

Pro-government commentator Okan Müderrisoğlu outlines the main features of the proposed legal framework underpinning the "solution process," also referred to as the "Terror-Free Türkiye" initiative. According to his column, the draft framework legislation would include the following key provisions: -The law would be temporary, remaining in force for a period of six to twelve months. -The implementation of the proposed legal measures could begin once the rate of weapons surrender and the evacuation of militant caves reaches approximately 75–80%.. -Individuals serving aggravated life sentences, including Abdullah Öcalan, as well as those who led or directly participated in acts of lethal violence, would be excluded from the scope of the framework. -Other members of the organization would be subject to individualized judicial review on a case-by-case basis. - Members of the PKK's senior leadership would not be eligible to benefit from the framework law and, consequently, would not be permitted to return to Turkey. Personal opinion : should the framework ultimately be limited to these provisions, it would likely encounter strong opposition from key actors within the Kurdish political movement, including the DEM Party and Kandil. The DEM, for instance, has consistently emphasized that the law should cover everyone and that no distinctions should be made. sabah.com.tr/yazarlar/muder…

A very helpful read by @gtahincioglu for understanding the situation within Turkey's main opposition party, the CHP. I highly recommend it.

Körber’s Annual Emerging Middle Powers Report is now out, featuring a contribution by @umitsahin and myself on middle powers and climate progress 👇 koerber-stiftung.de/site/assets/fi…

An insightful interview between senior PKK figure Duran Kalkan and Ruşen Çakır. One of the passages that particularly struck me — though it was very brief — was Kalkan’s fierce criticism of the CHP, which in many ways echoed the views expressed by the ruling elites. medyascope.tv/2026/07/17/med…

@Tablenbois1 Pas certain que nos amis américains apprécient le dyptique, et surtout la seconde partie... !

@C_Plaisant Le film a été aussi, en seconde attention mais tout de même, calibré pour l’international. En réalité, il y avait matière à faire une série - à condition d’avoir les moyens et les ambitions artistiques d’HBO.

Si je suis honnête, je dois avouer que le projet m’a plus séduit que le film lui-même.

Of course, one could also argue that the Turkish government has such a wide margin of maneuver in this matter — it is currently in a position of strength, as rarely before — that the Kurdish movement will ultimately have to yield to its demands. This may well be true as well.

@kinikli88_ENG I agree with you! The AKP lacks a genuine narrative, and that may be why it is placing such a strong emphasis on anti-corruption rhetoric and the ‘Terror-free Turkey’ project (the rhetoric on Turkish-Kurdish brotherhood, etc.)

@C_Plaisant The problem is that except for die hard AKP-MHP supporters no one buys this "founding myth". Unfortunately the governing coalition still does not have a convincing narrative on what happened before and during the coup ettempt.

Mehmet Uçum latest comments clearly illustrate the idea that 15 July 2016 has become a founding myth. In his article for AA, President Erdoğan’s legal adviser views the failure of the coup attempt as a “second war of liberation” and a genuine “political revolution”. In his view, the resistance to the coup was the very embodiment of the vitality of Turkish “democracy”. The post-2016 purges, which he claims targeted “anti-popular” structures, are moreover seen as a “revolutionary” instrument in the service of democracy and the rule of law. aa.com.tr/tr/analiz/15-1…

Türkiye ilk on ülke arasında… 2015/2025 arasında akademik özgürlüklerde gerileme açısından Türkiye yedinci sırada. Turkey is in top ten among the countries with biggest decline in academic freedom between 2015 and 2025.

@yasaraydin10 Very interesting !

Presd. Erdoğan used the failed coup attempt to consolidate power and establish a presidential system that observers increasingly regard as autocratic. This consolidation of power has coincided with the weakening of the rule of law and the economy, I argue swp-berlin.org/en/publication…

Vor zehn Jahren scheiterte der Militärputsch in der Türkei. Im damaligen Ausnahmezustand erkannte Präsident Erdoğan die Gelegenheit, seinen Zugriff auf den Staat dauerhaft auszubauen – auf Kosten von Rechtsstaatlichkeit und wirtschaftlicher Dynamik. cicero.de/aussenpolitik/…

@observatoiregeo Belle initiative ; c'est vraiment une référence sur le sujet du néolibéralisme (sur lequel on dit tout et n'importe quoi...)

@C_Plaisant Merci de me l'avoir rappelé. Déjà lu. Je vais faire un post sur ce livre.

Conseil de lecture Quinn Slobodian, Le capitalisme de l’apocalypse. Ou le rêve d’un monde sans démocratie, Seuil, Paris, 2025, 368 pages, 25,50 euros.

The upshot of this interview is that the PKK will unquestionably obey Abdullah Ocalan's every demand. This gives Ankara quite a bit of wiggle room. The government is soon expected to announce what will basically be no more than an amnesty law for PKK fighters & prisoners who qualify. This is not about granting Kurdish rights, it is about the final unraveling of the PKK. But the Iran factor and PJAK remain a wild card.

After more than two months without any visitors, and according to @ttatari, PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan is set to receive a delegation of lawmakers from the pro-Kurdish DEM Party next week. The meeting comes as the AKP works on the legal framework for its "Terror-Free Türkiye" initiative. However, the draft law remains far from satisfying the Kurdish movement's expectations.

A sign of where Syria-Turkey relations stand a year and a half since the fall of the former regime. Syria's public newspaper, Althawra, published on its website President Erdoğan's article "July 15: The Declaration of Independence of the Turkish Century." thawra.sy/opinion/%d8%a7…

I’d also like to clarify the format: rather than offering critical reviews—which would be too time-consuming for a weekly column—the aim is to provide a detailed, thematically organized selection for readers with limited time to follow the Turkish press or specialist literature on Turkey. In any case, I will do my best to offer a selection that goes beyond immediate current events, by recommending in-depth articles that prompt reflection on medium- and long-term issues in Turkey's domestic and foreign policy.

In my latest blog post, I review and highlight a selection of key articles from this week that provide valuable perspectives on #Turkey’s domestic and foreign policy developments. The post covers a range of topics, including: 1⃣The tenth anniversary of the failed coup attempt, featuring contributions by Lisel Hintz (@LiselHintz) /Hakkı Taş (@hakkitash), and Barış Özkul (@Barzkul6), as well as an interview with Hakan Şahin (@hakanexlieu) published in Evrensel. 2⃣The ongoing peace process between the Turkish government and the PKK, including the latest analysis by Cuma Çiçek for Birikim (@birikimdergisi) 3⃣Public perceptions of NATO in Turkey, highlighting the findings of the latest survey conducted by IstanPol (@istanpolinst) 4⃣Turkey’s mediation efforts, featuring recent research papers by Dareen Khalifa and Berkay Mandıracı, as well as by Pınar Akpınar (@pinarakpinar) and Ahmet Erdi Öztürk (@ahmeterdiozturk) 5⃣Turkey’s achievements at the latest NATO summit in Ankara, including an analysis by Ziya Öniş (@ZiyaOnis) and a commentary by Aaron Stein (@aaronstein1) Link:clmentplaisant.substack.com/p/this-weeks-r…