Angle, Anchor, and Voice

The players of 'the biggest game in town': Trump, Sharaa, Erdogan, Netanyahu, and the Kurds

At the White House, Sharaa’s meeting with Trump redrew the lines of advantage. Some emerged stronger, while others were left unsettled in their own…

Nov 13 • 

Ezgi Basaran

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Oxford Union and the Debate on the Ottoman Empire’s Demise

This week, after my italic introduction, a prominent Turkish intellectual Dr Cengiz Aktar shares his encounter with the Oxford Union and his regret over…

Nov 6 • 

Ezgi Basaran

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October 2025

The successes of Erdogan abroad and unhappiness it conceals at home

It is realpolitik in its purest form. The bitter irony is that the Palestinians, and even the people of Turkey, remain excluded from its rewards.

Oct 29 • 

Ezgi Basaran

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All Eyes on These Two Turkish Men: Hakan Fidan v. Ibrahim Kalın

Too many tributes, too many comparisons, too many convenient stories about Turkey's FM Fidan and spy chief Kalın. Therefore, I believe, several dynamics…

Oct 22 • 

Ezgi Basaran

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When Sisi, Erdoğan and Netanyahu are flattered this way...

The ceasefire brought scenes of relief and reunion. Then came the performance of power. The 'theatre of peace' at Sharm el-Sheikh told another story.

Oct 15 • 

Ezgi Basaran

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Your position on Palestine now reveals something fundamental about you

As we mark the 2nd anniversary of the October 7 attack, let's look at what it revealed about Israel, Palestine, and the world at large.

Oct 9 • 

Ezgi Basaran

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From Balfour to Trump/Blair: They Understand, They Just Don’t Care

Trump’s 20-point Gaza plan with Blair feels like Iraq and mandate Palestine returning, staged as if history never happened and as if we were all fools.

Oct 1 • 

Ezgi Basaran

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September 2025

With love, from Erdoğan's Turkey to Trump's America

While Erdoğan and Trump sit together, let this sister of yours offer a pocket atlas of the troubles we endured in Turkey — and that you are bound to…

Sep 25 • 

Ezgi Basaran

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'Everything goes back to the Ottoman Empire, doesn't it? Sometimes I wonder: is it even dead?'

In her remarkable new book, Lea Ypi follows the concept of (in)dignity across empire’s collapse, nation-building, and the ties of family.

Sep 18 • 

Ezgi Basaran

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What Israel’s Doha Attack Means for Turkey + Hezbollah and the SDF/PKK disarmament tracks

Two issues this week: the AKP’s inner circle is palpably concerned about a direct clash with Israel, while Hezbollah and the SDF/PKK face stalled…

Sep 12 • 

Ezgi Basaran

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Fragments & Findings: ‘Enjoy Saudi,’ Egypt’s Leverage, Yemen’s Aid Battles

This week, I bring you a few stories from the region told in fragments. Saudi Arabia hosts comedians, Egypt maneuvers at Rafah, and the Houthis turn aid…

Sep 4 • 

Ezgi Basaran

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August 2025

Which Syrian Army Should the Kurds Join?

While US’s Syria envoy rose to the apogee of Orientalism by lecturing Lebanese journos to “be civilised,” the real deadlock sits among…

Aug 27 • 

Ezgi Basaran

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