Associate Senior Policy Fellow
Turkey and Turkish politics; the Kurdish issue (in Turkey and Iraq); democracy; media freedom
English, Turkish, conversational French
Asli Aydıntaşbaş is an associate senior policy fellow with the Wider Europe programme at the European Council on Foreign Relation. Her topics of focus include Turkish foreign policy and external ramifications of its domestic politics.
She joined ECFR after a lengthy career in journalism; most recently she was a columnist at Milliyet (2009-2015) and previously a commentator on regional issues in international publications and networks. Aydintasbas’ columns not only delve into issues in Turkish foreign policy vis a vis the Middle East, but also probe issues of freedom and democratization in Turkey. She has written on these issues for publications such as the International Herald Tribune, The Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, Forbes, Politico, and Newsweek.
Aydıntaşbaş hosted the popular daily television programme Karşı Gündem on CNN Türk from 2013 to 2014. Prior to joining Milliyet, she served as a Washington correspondent and later the Ankara bureau chief for Sabah, one of Turkey’s leading newspapers. She covered the Clinton Administration, the United Nations, the Bush Administration, and the Iraq War in 1997-2004 as a Washington and New York correspondent for NTV and Radikal.
Aydıntaşbaş is a graduate of Bates College, where she was the recipient of Maung Maung Gyi Award for Excellence in International Relations and holds a MA in Journalism and Middle East Studies from New York University.
She is based in Istanbul but travels regularly throughout the Middle East and Europe.
With a Kurdish insurgency brewing at home and US and Russian support for Kurdish forces on Turkey’s southern flank in Syria, an overhaul in foreign policy presented itself as an unavoidable strategic imperative
The growing friendship between Russia and Turkey in recent years was a problem for Europe. But their recent bust-up is an even bigger one
Turkey’s outrage at the German vote on the Armenian genocide is for domestic consumption – Erdoğan is careful not to derail his deal with the EU or become still more isolated
Davutoğlu’s departure may cut the EU and Turkey’s honeymoon period short, and endanger the refugee deal agreed just two months ago
Turkey has entered open war with ISIS and is attempting to stifle Kurdish gains in norther Syria
The EU-Turkey deal offers the promise of ending Ankara's international isolation, but the scepticism of domestic politicians may prove problematic
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with ECFR Visiting Fellow Asli Aydintasbas, ECFR Senior Policy Fellow Mattia Toaldo, and ECFR Board Member and German politician…
Turkey will endeavour to keep to its side of the bargain, but is facing substantial pressure both military and humanitarian
Faced with the prospect of a Kurdish “statelet” emerging on its border, the chances of Turkey charting its own course in Syria are on the increase
Conférence du lundi 22 février portant sur les relations entre l'Union européenne et la Turquie. Avec Asli Aydintasbas, Visiting Fellow à l'ECFR et Nicu Popescu,…
Middle powers are shaping a fragmented world for which Europe is ill prepared. To protect its interests and values, the EU needs a foreign policy strategy that emphasises its wide range of interdependencies
Ankara is trying to normalise its relationships with Middle Eastern governments. The EU needs to adjust to the new Turkey that is emerging from this process
After decades of tension, Turkey and Armenia now feel it is in their interest to normalise their relationship – not least to promote trade and to balance against Russian influence
ECFR’s policy experts examine what the Taliban takeover means for countries and regions around the world: Europe, the US, the Middle East, Russia, China, Iran, Turkey, and the Sahel
EU member states should help Turkey manage the impact of the new trade regulations the deal would bring in
Instead of using the UAE to push back against Turkey or vice versa, Europe should develop its own strategy on their rivalry
EU member states can find ways to cooperate with Turkey to support stabilisation in parts of the safe zone, without violating their interests and core principle
Introduction To display the YouTube video provided by Google, click the button below. This means Google will receive technical data about your device or browser,…
The survey reveals the varying motivations of the 28 EU member states for keeping Turkey close — but not too close
In the federal election year, Germans are ready to give new European solutions a strong boost and take more risks
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced Turkey’s intention to apply for BRICS membership. If successful, it would be the bloc’s only NATO member – but the mere prospect of joining could open the door to Turkey’s re-engagement with the West
Turkey’s backing of Hamas has left it out of diplomatic processes and further strained its ties with the US. However, its recent decision to approve Sweden’s NATO membership could be an opportunity for Western diplomats to patch things up
The US and the EU should refrain from making any interventions during Turkey’s election period – but they may need to respond quickly depending on the results of the vote
The SCO is often seen as the anti-NATO, but Putin will struggle to convince the other members – especially the Central Asian states – that his war is more important than Chinese investment
The Turkish president is unlikely to veto Nordic membership of NATO – but Turkey’s bigger strategic worry is of a NATO-Russia conflict arising out of the war in Ukraine
Heightened conflict in Ukraine could have serious consequences for European interests in the Middle East and North Africa. It could further disrupt energy supplies, exacerbate food insecurity, and help states in the region gain leverage over the US and Europe
Turkey would attempt to sit on the fence if conflict breaks out in Ukraine. But with domestic challenges rising at home, Recep Tayyip Erdogan may not be able to withstand the pressure from either Russia or NATO allies
As countries across the Middle East pause to take stock of recent conflicts, Europeans need to do more to support dialogue
As the Turkish president continues his delicate balancing act between the US and Russia, the crisis in Ukraine presents new opportunities for Ankara’s transatlantic credentials
Grand bargains are tough to achieve but, eventually, Turkey and the EU will have to strike up a working partnership whereby they cooperate on some issues and compete on others
The eastern Mediterranean is becoming ever more perilous as geopolitical fault lines steadily enmesh the region. These rifts emerge from the Cyprus ‘frozen conflict’, competition for valuable gas fields, and the increasingly entangled wars in Libya and Syria
In this bonus episode of Swamp Chronicles, Aslı Aydıntaşbaş and Jeremy Shapiro talk to Mark Leonard about the results of the US election
Mark Leonard welcomes Aslı Aydıntaşbaş and Jeremy Shapiro to discuss the results of the 2024 US election
Aslı Aydıntaşbaş and Jeremy Shapiro talk to Célia Belin and Majda Ruge about the US election and the various foreign policy tribes within the Democratic and Republican party
Aslı Aydıntaşbaş and Jeremy Shapiro talk to Fiona Hill about the future of transatlantic relations and the war in Ukraine after the election
Aslı Aydıntaşbaş and Jeremy Shapiro talk to Ed Luce to talk about what either a Kamala Harris or Donald Trump victory would mean for America, US foreign policy, and Europe
Aslı Aydıntaşbaş and Jeremy Shapiro welcome to Matt Duss to discuss American policy in the Middle East and the future of progressive foreign policy
Aslı Aydıntaşbaş and Jeremy Shapiro welcome Ken Weinstein to discuss why and how Trump’s negotiating tactics could strengthen the US foreign policy position, and help forge alliances against China
Aslı Aydıntaşbaş and Jeremy Shapiro welcome Dan Caldwell to discuss why a second Donald Trump administration will likely involve personnel more aligned with the ‘restrainer’ movement
Aslı Aydıntaşbaş and Jeremy Shapiro welcome Norman Eisen to take a deeper look at the state of play in the upcoming US presidential election and discuss the implications for Europe
Aslı Aydıntaşbaş and Jeremy Shapiro welcome Connecticut senator Chris Murphy to discuss America’s ‘metaphysical’ crisis and the post-neoliberal framing of the 2024 election
The relatively short-lived flare-up between Azerbaijan and Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict has ended in early November with a ceasefire brokered by Russia
Aslı Aydıntaşbaş on the involvement of Turkey in Syria
Aslı Aydıntaşbaş on the recent events shifting the balance of power in Syria
Aslı Aydıntaşbaş on recent power shifting developments in Syria
President-elect Donald Trump’s return to power is unnerving but, as I have argued previously, America will not turn into a dictatorship overnight — or in four years
In this op-ed, Aslı Aydıntaşbaş offers strategies for navigating Trump’s mandate
In Ankara, the initial euphoria over Donald Trump’s presidential election victory has passed as nominations for the new US administration began to emerge
Aslı Aydıntaşbaş on Turkish reactions to Trump’s victory
