Merve Tahiroğlu

Turkey Program Director

Expertise:

Democracy Promotion · Human Rights · Rule of Law · Turkey · U.S.-Turkey Relations

Merve Tahiroğlu is the Turkey Program Director at POMED, where she conducts research on and advocates for democracy and human rights in Turkey. Merve is also an advisory board member at the Washington-based think tank Kurdish Peace Institute (KPI) and was a fellow with the National Endowment for Democracy (NED)’s Penn Kemble Forum on Democracy in 2020-21. Prior to joining POMED in 2019, Merve was a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, where she focused on Turkey’s foreign policy, domestic politics, and relationship with Washington. Merve has authored several monographs on Turkey and published articles in outlets such as the Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, NBC, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and Politico.

Born and raised in Istanbul, Merve holds an MA in History from Georgetown University and a BA in Political Science from Duke University.

Turkey

May 2022

Expert Q&A + more
Video

Video Q&A: Why Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu’s Hand Signal Threatens Turkey’s Minorities

Merve Tahiroğlu, Ohannes Kılıçdağı, Dilan Okçuoğlu

Turkey

May 2022

Commentary

Why Turkish Citizens Blame the United States for Ukraine War

Merve Tahiroğlu

Turkey

Mar 2022

Between the Lines + more
Video

Between the Lines: Dimitar Bechev on Turkey Under Erdoğan

Dimitar Bechev, Merve Tahiroğlu

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Turkey

Jun 2021

Congressional Testimony

U.S. Senate Human Rights Caucus: The Human Rights Situation in Turkey

Merve Tahiroğlu

Turkey

Nov 2019

Congressional Testimony

POMED's Merve Tahiroğlu Testifies on Turkey before the Helsinki Commission

Merve Tahiroğlu

“This is a surprising decision [by a Turkish court to overturn the conviction of four human rights defenders] given the Erdogan government’s consistently abysmal human rights record. . . . [Coming on the heels of Simsek’s appointment,] it appears to be part of a trend that suggests a positive change in Erdogan’s approach to governance.”

Al-Monitor

, 06/06/2023

Merve Tahiroğlu

“In terms of political freedoms and human rights and democracy, I think it’s going to be terrible . . . it’s only going to get worse, we’re only going to see more political prisoners moving forward. This might cause academics, civil society, leaders, and journalists to give up the fight moving forward, and I think that would be the worst thing for Turkey.”

VOA

, 06/02/2023

Merve Tahiroğlu

Erdoğan is not irrational, which means he also understands something fundamental about Turkey’s NATO membership: it’s part of what gives him his clout. “Turkey’s power very much stems from the fact that it’s in NATO.”

Vox

, 05/28/2023

Merve Tahiroğlu

“I think the opposition has calculated that its decision to prioritize the economic issues hasn’t really delivered the victory that they wanted.”

Huffington Post

, 05/26/2023

Merve Tahiroğlu

“[Opponents have never been] this close in terms of public sentiment to winning an election, to unseating Erdogan.”

Huffington Post

, 05/12/2023

Merve Tahiroğlu

“Given how much control Erdogan has over the judiciary, the bureaucracy, the media and other state institutions, it’s impossible for this to be a fair playing field.”

Washington Post

, 05/12/2023

Merve Tahiroğlu

“Turkey has a very long track record of holding competitive elections…. “So for people from all walks of life, it’s a bare minimum that the country should have a free enough election where people feel, ‘We’ve picked our leader.’”

Washington Post

, 05/12/2023

Merve Tahiroğlu

“I have a lot of confidence in the opposition’s ability to prevent or at least expose election security issues that might come up on Sunday…. They’ve really been prioritizing this issue and have been trying to get pro-opposition or independent monitors at polling stations throughout the country.”

Turkey Recap

, 05/11/2023

Merve Tahiroğlu

Turkey

December 17, 2021

Supporting Democracy and Human Rights in Turkey: Can the United States and Europe Do More?

Turkey

June 29, 2021

Cracking Down on Creative Voices: Turkey’s Silencing of Writers, Intellectuals, and Artists Five Years After the Failed Coup

Turkey

April 22, 2021