The Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research () is a policy

think-tank A think tank, or public 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-governme ...

based in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

, 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 since 2014. The group describes itself as independent, nonprofit and nonpartisan, but is described by

Deutsche Welle (; "German Wave"), commonly shortened to DW (), is a German state-funded television network, state-owned international broadcaster funded by the Federal Government of Germany. The service is available in 32 languages. DW's satellite tele ...

as being controlled by President

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

. It has offices in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, and produces an academic journal on Turkey, '' Insight Turkey''.

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 is a Turkish name deriving from the Arabic name Rajab. It may refer to: People Surname * Aziz Recep (born 1992), German-Greek footballer * Sibel Recep (born 1987), Swedish pop singer Given name * Recep Adanır (1929–2017), Turkish fo ...

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

and are also columnists for pro-AKP newspapers. İbrahim Kalın, 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 States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...

. 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

. Burhanettin Duran, 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 government. ...

. 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 Euronews (stylised in lowercase) is a pan-European television news broadcasting, news network, headquartered in Lyon, France. It is a provider of livestreamed news, which can be viewed in Europe and North Africa via satellite, and in most of the ...

in Turkish,

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

Turkish,

Voice of America Voice of America (VOA or VoA) is an international broadcasting network funded by the federal government of the United States that by law has editorial independence from the government. It is the largest and oldest of the American internation ...

(Voice of America),

Sputnik Sputnik 1 (, , ''Satellite 1''), sometimes referred to as simply Sputnik, was the first artificial Earth satellite. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957 as part of the Soviet space progra ...

Turkey, CRI Turkey, and the Independent Turkish. It also provided examples of the news that journalists share on social media and accused members of the press of having an anti-government bias. Journalism associations and unions have condemned the report, saying it targeted journalists. The Turkish Union of Journalists (TGS) has said that it plans to file a criminal complaint about the report. The

made the following announcement about the report on Twitter: "The BBC also rejects the allegations in this report. The 'blacklisting' of journalists is completely unacceptable. It is vital that journalists can work freely, without threats and intimidation and the Turkish authorities must ensure media freedom."

References

{{Authority control 2006 establishments in Turkey Think tanks based in Turkey Turkey–United States relations Çankaya District