All Policy Analysis by Soner Cagaptay

Erdogan has the political and constitutional wherewithal to transform Turkey into a presidential system, and he will likely do just that.

Erdogan holds several trump cards that make him the unquestioned front-runner in a landmark election.

Erdogan's strategy in the August presidential polls envisions strong support among European Turks in the first round of voting, and backing from nationalist Kurds in case of a second round.

Dr. Cagaptay discusses how the United States can encourage Turkey's reorientation toward Europe as the two countries work together on the ISIS/IS threat and other issues.

Rapprochement with Turkey may not lead to outright independence for the Kurds. But in the new Middle East, the borders between the Kurds and Arabs will be more real than those between the Kurds and Turkey.

By maintaining close ties with Iraqi Kurds, continuing the peace talks with Turkish Kurds, and developing security relations with Syrian Kurds, Ankara can help stave off the threats now looming on its southern borders.

Reza Akhlaghi interviews Dr. Cagaptay about the crisis in Iraq, the state of U.S.-Turkish relations, Ankara's policy toward Syria, and more.

Soner Cagaptay is the author of the new book The Rise of Turkey: The Twenty-First Century's First Muslim Power . His other work includes the book Islam, Secularism, and Nationalism in Modern Turkey: Who is a Turk? He is the Beyer Family Fellow and director of the Turkish Research Program

If Erdogan hopes to become Turkey's first directly elected president, he will need to continue courting Kurdish voters and burnishing his economic and populist credentials.

As Turkey's presidential election approaches, a closer look at the results of the March local elections sheds light on how the country's near-term political future may unfold.

Turkey has risen over the past decade thanks to Erdogan, but liberals are becoming the country's new agents of change.

Analysis of the March 30 local elections from Turkey scholar Soner Cagaptay and former U.S. ambassador to Ankara James Jeffrey.

To ease ongoing tensions, the AKP government needs to adopt a truly sect-blind approach, while staunchly secular communities need to allow some room for religion in the public sphere.

Turkey's leaders should acknowledge that banning social media sites is neither feasible nor conducive to developing a more advanced economy.

Two former U.S. ambassadors to Ankara joined the head of NATO LANDCOM and the author of a new book on Turkey to discuss the AKP government's foreign and domestic policies. Read a summary or watch video.