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Nearly a year after its formation, the Nation Alliance, consisting of six opposition par­ties ("Table of Six"), finally started to act like a full-fledged electoral alliance against the ruling bloc under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The six opposition leaders have long been criticised for failing to take concrete steps towards embodying a viable po­lit­ical alternative to the People’s Alliance of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) since they publicly signed the joint manifesto for Turkey’s transition into the "Strengthened Parliamentary System" in February 2022. Although the alliance has yet to announce its joint presidential can­didate, it has manifested an unprecedentedly comprehensive joint platform in nine policy areas, including the rule of law, public administration, social policy, economy, and foreign policy. The 200-page joint document provides a comprehensive overview of what changes Turkey can be expected to go through in the short and medium terms should the Nation Alliance manage to defeat President Erdoğan's ruling bloc in the up­coming elections, which will probably take place on 14 May 2023. Even though it would not immediately offer a solution to various issues in Turkey-EU relations, a pos­sible opposition victory could bring bilateral relations back to an institutional frame­work, whereby both parties can cooperate in a productive way to work out their problems and focus on common interests. (Autorenreferat)

Millions of Turkish voters are geared up for the twin (parliamentary and presidential) elections that are scheduled to take place in June 2023 at the latest. After nearly 20 years in power, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's rule may seem unassailable to many observers of Turkish politics. However, owing to the economic downturn and rifts in his ruling party, this will be the first election in which Erdoğan is not the clear favourite. Six oppo­sition parties of different ideological origins have come together to pick a joint presidential candidate to stand against Erdoğan and to offer a common platform for restoring parliamentary democracy. Although the opposition alliance has reasonable chances of defeating Erdoğan's ruling bloc, their victory would not guarantee a smooth process of transition to parliamentary democracy. If the opposition can defeat Erdoğan, the new government would need to undertake the arduous tasks of estab­lishing a meri­tocratic bureaucracy, restructuring Turkey's diplomatic course and economic policy, and switching back to parliamentary rule. Due to the opposition alliance's diverse com­position, accomplishing these goals may be as difficult as winning the elections.

Not long ago, the Kurdish question (KQ) topped the agenda of Turkish politics. Thanks mainly to what was called the Resolution Process between 2009 and 2015, there was a tense but lively political and public discussion on this colossal problem that the Turk­ish republic has long been tackling with since its foundation. In the past few years, however, the KQ ceased to be a priority issue in Turkish politics. So much so that the "terror question", a watchword for the KQ in the daily lexicon of mainstream Turkish politics, is no longer regarded by the Turkish public as being among the country’s top political problems. However, recently, there have appeared some new signs which in­dicate that the KQ will most likely return to the political agenda. Both Turkish Presi­dent Erdoğan and the leaders of the country's opposition parties have taken steps that reveal that they will revisit the KQ as the 2023 Turkish general election approaches. (author's abstract)

Muharrem Ince was the presidential candidate of the Republican People’s Party (CHP). The election results did not reflect the hopes Ince had created, and his ineptitude in managing the post-election process further undermined his popularity and credibility. However, Ince’s inclusive appeals throughout the campaign suggest a potentially successful approach for opposition parties in general and the CHP in particular. To challenge President Erdogan effectively, they need to mitigate the significance of identity politics. (Autorenreferat)