Ezgi Basaran
@ezgibasaran.bsky.social
Journalist + social scientist. Interested in the politics of the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey. From Istanbul, based in Oxford. MPhil, DPhil, Oxon.
Reposted by Ezgi Basaran
Issue #282! With @ezgibasaran.bsky.social and @adasmichalski.bsky.social:
1. Bahçeli volunteers for Öcalan meeting
2. Zelenskyy visit centers on peace talks
3. Pesticide suspected in tourist family tragedy
4. Domestic and diplomatic wraps
5. MP protests water-saving tip amid drought
1. Bahçeli volunteers for Öcalan meeting
2. Zelenskyy visit centers on peace talks
3. Pesticide suspected in tourist family tragedy
4. Domestic and diplomatic wraps
5. MP protests water-saving tip amid drought
Imralı The Troops
Issue #282
www.turkeyrecap.com
November 21, 2025 at 5:38 AM
Issue #282! With @ezgibasaran.bsky.social and @adasmichalski.bsky.social:
1. Bahçeli volunteers for Öcalan meeting
2. Zelenskyy visit centers on peace talks
3. Pesticide suspected in tourist family tragedy
4. Domestic and diplomatic wraps
5. MP protests water-saving tip amid drought
1. Bahçeli volunteers for Öcalan meeting
2. Zelenskyy visit centers on peace talks
3. Pesticide suspected in tourist family tragedy
4. Domestic and diplomatic wraps
5. MP protests water-saving tip amid drought
Syria under al-Sharaa is not what many imagine. The state is increasingly run by technocrats who returned from exile, and figures like Haykal speak the language of experience, expertise and toolkits that once defined the AKP’s mentorship of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Ennahda in Tunisia.
November 19, 2025 at 10:34 AM
Syria under al-Sharaa is not what many imagine. The state is increasingly run by technocrats who returned from exile, and figures like Haykal speak the language of experience, expertise and toolkits that once defined the AKP’s mentorship of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and Ennahda in Tunisia.
I listened to him at Oxford and have read @timothysnyder.bsky.social work closely over the years. He explains politics and history in ways that are both beautiful and unexpected. He has long been an optimist, or in his words someone with a vast political imagination.
November 17, 2025 at 12:17 PM
I listened to him at Oxford and have read @timothysnyder.bsky.social work closely over the years. He explains politics and history in ways that are both beautiful and unexpected. He has long been an optimist, or in his words someone with a vast political imagination.
Syria remains the key that fits too many locks. What happens there now, in this narrow interval between wars and bargains, will shape the region for years.
The players: Sharaa, Erdoğan, Trump, Netanyahu, and the Kurdish movement.
The players: Sharaa, Erdoğan, Trump, Netanyahu, and the Kurdish movement.
November 13, 2025 at 8:29 AM
Syria remains the key that fits too many locks. What happens there now, in this narrow interval between wars and bargains, will shape the region for years.
The players: Sharaa, Erdoğan, Trump, Netanyahu, and the Kurdish movement.
The players: Sharaa, Erdoğan, Trump, Netanyahu, and the Kurdish movement.
Reposted by Ezgi Basaran
📌 I shared my two cents in this long article written by Stefano Mazzola for @mm-ilfoglio-bot.bsky.social dedicated to #Turkey's mediation role alongside @berkesen.bsky.social and @ezgibasaran.bsky.social 🇹🇷
November 6, 2025 at 11:20 AM
📌 I shared my two cents in this long article written by Stefano Mazzola for @mm-ilfoglio-bot.bsky.social dedicated to #Turkey's mediation role alongside @berkesen.bsky.social and @ezgibasaran.bsky.social 🇹🇷
This week, I share a piece by a prominent Turkish intellectual, Dr Cengiz Aktar, who reflects on his encounter with the Oxford Union and why he 'regrets the Ottoman Empire’s demise.' www.angleanchorvoice.co.uk/p/oxford-uni...
Oxford Union and the Debate on the Ottoman Empire’s Demise
ChatGPT said:This week, after my italic introduction, a prominent Turkish intellectual Dr Cengiz Aktar shares his encounter with the Oxford Union and his regret over the Ottoman Empire’s demise.
www.angleanchorvoice.co.uk
November 6, 2025 at 9:19 AM
This week, I share a piece by a prominent Turkish intellectual, Dr Cengiz Aktar, who reflects on his encounter with the Oxford Union and why he 'regrets the Ottoman Empire’s demise.' www.angleanchorvoice.co.uk/p/oxford-uni...
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and intelligence chief İbrahim Kalın have become the two most scrutinised figures in the Erdoğan government. Both operate where diplomacy meets intelligence and both are now central to how Israel reads Turkey’s future.
October 22, 2025 at 10:26 AM
Turkey’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and intelligence chief İbrahim Kalın have become the two most scrutinised figures in the Erdoğan government. Both operate where diplomacy meets intelligence and both are now central to how Israel reads Turkey’s future.
The angle I took in examining the Sharm el-Sheikh summit(and the consequences of Trump praising Netanyahu, Sisi, and Erdoğan) was almost identical to how @RoryStewartUK framed it in his podcast this week: the reign of recklessness, excess, and the diffusion of authoritarianism.
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.
open.substack.com
October 15, 2025 at 3:54 PM
The angle I took in examining the Sharm el-Sheikh summit(and the consequences of Trump praising Netanyahu, Sisi, and Erdoğan) was almost identical to how @RoryStewartUK framed it in his podcast this week: the reign of recklessness, excess, and the diffusion of authoritarianism.
It is, of course, a relief that the killing in Gaza has stopped. For now. The ceasefire brought scenes of reunion and release, but there are other angles worth attention. In Sharm el-Sheikh, the so-called peace summit became something else entirely : a Trumpian transposition of order.
October 15, 2025 at 9:18 AM
It is, of course, a relief that the killing in Gaza has stopped. For now. The ceasefire brought scenes of reunion and release, but there are other angles worth attention. In Sharm el-Sheikh, the so-called peace summit became something else entirely : a Trumpian transposition of order.
Reposted by Ezgi Basaran
Trump: "The person who actually got the Nobel Prize called today, called me, and said 'I'm accepting this in honor of you, because you really deserved it.' A really nice thing to do. I didn't say 'Then give it to me, though.'"
October 10, 2025 at 10:20 PM
Trump: "The person who actually got the Nobel Prize called today, called me, and said 'I'm accepting this in honor of you, because you really deserved it.' A really nice thing to do. I didn't say 'Then give it to me, though.'"
As we mark the second anniversary of October 7, I want us to look at what it revealed about Israel, Palestine, and the world at large. We are at a crossroads.
October 9, 2025 at 8:42 AM
As we mark the second anniversary of October 7, I want us to look at what it revealed about Israel, Palestine, and the world at large. We are at a crossroads.
Trump’s new “day after” plan for Gaza proposes a technocratic Palestinian committee overseen by a Trump-chaired “Board of Peace,” with Tony Blair as steward.
October 1, 2025 at 7:26 AM
Trump’s new “day after” plan for Gaza proposes a technocratic Palestinian committee overseen by a Trump-chaired “Board of Peace,” with Tony Blair as steward.
Reposted by Ezgi Basaran
A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration violated the First Amendment by deporting noncitizen student activists. nyti.ms/4mG1pck
September 30, 2025 at 9:40 PM
A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration violated the First Amendment by deporting noncitizen student activists. nyti.ms/4mG1pck
Reposted by Ezgi Basaran
“The U.S. has a complex political system with checks and balances and many veto points.”
a woman in a red shirt is making a funny face and saying `` sure , jan '' .
ALT: a woman in a red shirt is making a funny face and saying `` sure , jan '' .
media.tenor.com
September 26, 2025 at 10:22 PM
“The U.S. has a complex political system with checks and balances and many veto points.”
This week’s Angle, Anchor, and Voice post on Erdoğan and Trump was featured in the Italian daily @ilfoglio.bsky.social A nice surprise and many thanks to Stefano Mazzola.
September 26, 2025 at 12:05 PM
This week’s Angle, Anchor, and Voice post on Erdoğan and Trump was featured in the Italian daily @ilfoglio.bsky.social A nice surprise and many thanks to Stefano Mazzola.
Trump and Erdoğan meet in New York. Two CEOs posing as statesmen.
I wrote this week’s Substack as a three-course meal of troubles: hard to digest, but lessons from Turkey for Trump’s America.
I wrote this week’s Substack as a three-course meal of troubles: hard to digest, but lessons from Turkey for Trump’s America.
September 25, 2025 at 8:54 AM
Trump and Erdoğan meet in New York. Two CEOs posing as statesmen.
I wrote this week’s Substack as a three-course meal of troubles: hard to digest, but lessons from Turkey for Trump’s America.
I wrote this week’s Substack as a three-course meal of troubles: hard to digest, but lessons from Turkey for Trump’s America.
Reposted by Ezgi Basaran
Italy sends assistance to aid Italian citizens on board Gaza flotilla:
"I have authorised the immediate intervention of the Navy's frigate Fasan, which was sailing north of Crete and is heading towards the area," Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said in a statement.
"I have authorised the immediate intervention of the Navy's frigate Fasan, which was sailing north of Crete and is heading towards the area," Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said in a statement.
Italy sends warship to accompany Gaza flotilla following Israeli attack
No casualties reported on Global Sumud Flotilla after multiple explosions in early hours
www.middleeasteye.net
September 24, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Italy sends assistance to aid Italian citizens on board Gaza flotilla:
"I have authorised the immediate intervention of the Navy's frigate Fasan, which was sailing north of Crete and is heading towards the area," Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said in a statement.
"I have authorised the immediate intervention of the Navy's frigate Fasan, which was sailing north of Crete and is heading towards the area," Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said in a statement.
Reposted by Ezgi Basaran
Millions spent on Trump visit. Red carpets, Royals in coronets and golden dining services too. And all he offers in return are petulant racist insults about our capital city and our mayor.
What a singular lack of decorum, grace, and courtesy. Fuck him and his damp hands and his nicotine yellow wig
What a singular lack of decorum, grace, and courtesy. Fuck him and his damp hands and his nicotine yellow wig
September 23, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Millions spent on Trump visit. Red carpets, Royals in coronets and golden dining services too. And all he offers in return are petulant racist insults about our capital city and our mayor.
What a singular lack of decorum, grace, and courtesy. Fuck him and his damp hands and his nicotine yellow wig
What a singular lack of decorum, grace, and courtesy. Fuck him and his damp hands and his nicotine yellow wig
Reposted by Ezgi Basaran
The president of France, Emmanuel Macron, experienced a frustration that many New Yorkers know all too well. He got stuck on a Manhattan street corner. It had been closed off for President Trump’s motorcade during the UN General Assembly. nyti.ms/46F5esx
September 23, 2025 at 9:15 PM
The president of France, Emmanuel Macron, experienced a frustration that many New Yorkers know all too well. He got stuck on a Manhattan street corner. It had been closed off for President Trump’s motorcade during the UN General Assembly. nyti.ms/46F5esx
It’s disheartening to see comedians comedy-wash a brutal regime that crushes free speech in unimaginable ways. I wrote about this a couple of weeks ago here:
open.substack.com/pub/ezgibasa...
open.substack.com/pub/ezgibasa...
September 23, 2025 at 1:35 PM
It’s disheartening to see comedians comedy-wash a brutal regime that crushes free speech in unimaginable ways. I wrote about this a couple of weeks ago here:
open.substack.com/pub/ezgibasa...
open.substack.com/pub/ezgibasa...
How can this be not from the pages of @theonion.com
Rubio previews Trump's UN speech: "POTUS will point to his own history with the UN going back to his time as a developer. He actually offered to fix the UN building & instead they decided to go in a different direction, wasted a bunch of money ... it's emblematic of how feckless the UN has become"
September 23, 2025 at 1:29 PM
How can this be not from the pages of @theonion.com
Reposted by Ezgi Basaran
Trump: "We've got a lot of stupid people in this country running things."
September 22, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Trump: "We've got a lot of stupid people in this country running things."
Reposted by Ezgi Basaran
Excellent essay, well worth reading:
This piece is tad bit personal. It has angles, different voices, and serious exits. I hope you enjoy it and share your grandmothers’ stories, Ottoman or not. open.substack.com/pub/ezgibasa...
'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.
open.substack.com
September 18, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Excellent essay, well worth reading:
This is about Lea Ypi’s remarkable new book Indignity, my grandmother, her grandmother, Salonica, Istanbul, Tirana and the long shadows of empire. Ypi recounts her grandmother’s life as a story of dignity. Dignity in the fate of a woman. In the bonds of a family. In the decline of an empire.
September 18, 2025 at 10:44 AM
This is about Lea Ypi’s remarkable new book Indignity, my grandmother, her grandmother, Salonica, Istanbul, Tirana and the long shadows of empire. Ypi recounts her grandmother’s life as a story of dignity. Dignity in the fate of a woman. In the bonds of a family. In the decline of an empire.
This week I wrote about 2 developments.
1) Israel’s strike on Hamas in Doha unsettled Turkey as much as Qatar. For the AKP’s circle, long tied to Hamas leadership+bound in a strategic alliance with Doha, the attack signals that confrontation with Israel can no longer be treated as a distant risk.
1) Israel’s strike on Hamas in Doha unsettled Turkey as much as Qatar. For the AKP’s circle, long tied to Hamas leadership+bound in a strategic alliance with Doha, the attack signals that confrontation with Israel can no longer be treated as a distant risk.
September 12, 2025 at 4:24 PM
This week I wrote about 2 developments.
1) Israel’s strike on Hamas in Doha unsettled Turkey as much as Qatar. For the AKP’s circle, long tied to Hamas leadership+bound in a strategic alliance with Doha, the attack signals that confrontation with Israel can no longer be treated as a distant risk.
1) Israel’s strike on Hamas in Doha unsettled Turkey as much as Qatar. For the AKP’s circle, long tied to Hamas leadership+bound in a strategic alliance with Doha, the attack signals that confrontation with Israel can no longer be treated as a distant risk.