The Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research ( tr, Siyaset, Ekonomi ve Toplum Araştırmaları Vakfı, SETA) is a policy

think-tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental ...

based in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

, Turkey. It was established in 2006 with the objective of producing "up-to-date and accurate knowledge and analyses in the fields of politics, economy and society" and informing "policy makers and the public on changing political, economic, social and cultural conditions." Its general coordinator has been

Burhanettin Duran Burhanettin Duran (born 1971) is a Turkish political life scholar best known as author of academic studies on the transformation of political Islam under the rule of Justice and Development Party in Turkey. He is a former member of the Department o ...

since 2014. The group describes itself as independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan, but is described by Deutsche Welle as being controlled by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. It has offices in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, and

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

, and produces an academic journal on Turkey, ''

Insight Turkey ''Insight Turkey'' is an academic journal publishing peer-reviewed articles on Turkish politics since 1999. The previous editor of the journal was Talip Küçükcan, a professor of sociology at the Marmara University İstanbul, Turkey, but who is ...

''.

Relationship with AKP and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Despite claiming to be independent, SETA has close relations with AKP government led by

Recep Tayyip Erdogan Recep may refer to: People Surname * Aziz Recep (born 1992), German-Greek footballer * Sibel Recep (born 1987), Swedish pop singer Given name * Recep Adanır (born 1929), Turkish footballer * Recep Akdağ (born 1960), Turkish physician and polit ...

and accordingly organized many academic panels to legitimize official policies of the AKP. Close political affiliations and single-sided viewpoints have led to the group being frequently labelled " AKP’s think tank" or "pro-government," in reference to the country's leading party whose position it backs, by Western media. Some of the current and former SETA members are also serving as high-ranking officials for the presidential system of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and are also columnists for pro-AKP newspapers.

İbrahim Kalın İbrahim Kalın (born September 15, 1971 in Istanbul) is a Turkish bureaucrat and Islamic studies scholar. In 2018, he was appointed as deputy chairman of the Security and Foreign Policy Council of Turkish Presidency and chief adviser to the Presi ...

, the founding director of the SETA, is now a chief adviser to the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and also the Presidential Spokesperson since 2014 and was a columnist for the leading pro-AKP newspaper

Sabah Sabah () is a state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indonesia to the south. The Federal Territory o ...

. Fahrettin Altun, former Istanbul General Coordinator of SETA & Deputy General Coordinator of SETA is now serving as the Presidential Head of Communication and was a columnist for the pro-AKP newspaper

, general coordinator of SETA is also a member of the Presidential Security and Foreign Policy Board and is a columnist for the pro-AKP newspaper

. Muhammet Mücahit Küçükyılmaz, former communication coordinator of SETA is now serving as a chief adviser to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and was a columnist for the pro-AKP newspaper

. Hatice Karahan, who did economics research for SETA is now serving as an economic advisor to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and was a columnist for the pro-AKP newspaper

Yeni Şafak ''Yeni Şafak'' ("New Dawn") is a conservative, Islamist Turkish daily newspaper. The newspaper is known for its hardline support of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the AK Party and has a very close relationship with the Turkish governmen ...

. In early July 2019, SETA published a 202-page report titled "International Media Outlets' Extensions in Turkey", which caused great controversy both in Turkey and abroad. The report provided individual names and professional backgrounds of Turkish journalists working in institutions such as Euronews in Turkish,

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

...

Relationship with AKP and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

References