Riccardo Gasco
@riccardogasco.bsky.social
Ph.D. Candidate in #IR at Unibo 🇮🇹 | Visiting Research Fellow at Istanbul Policy Center 🇹🇷 | SOAS Alumni 🇬🇧 | FP Program Coordinator at IstanPol | Turkey, FP, Security | gasco66@gmail.com | https://riccardogasco.phd.sh/
📌 In our new piece with Francesco Salesio Schiavi, we discuss why #Italy’s interest in the #Turkish TB3 is structurally different from previous #European purchases of Turkish drones. 🇮🇹 🇹🇷 gasco66.substack.com/p/italys-tur...
Italy’s Turkish Turn — and Europe’s Unspoken Defence Shift
Italy’s TB3 move signals a deeper shift in naval warfare, defence industrial integration, and Europe’s security debate
gasco66.substack.com
📌 Read @lcmporter.bsky.social latest for the @thenationalnews.com, including some comments from me on #Zelensky's visit to #Damascus and why Turkish FM Hakan #Fidan was there. 🇺🇦 🇹🇷 🇸🇾 www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...
Ukraine faces balancing act as it seeks to build ties with Syria | The National
Turkey, acting as intermediary, wants to ensure that neither Russia nor Iran will be significantly affected, sources say
thenationalnews.com
📌 It has been a great pleasure to join Daniele Bellasio on his Macro podcast for il @sole24ore.bsky.social to discuss Turkey's role in the Iran war. 🇹🇷 🇮🇷 🔺 We looked at Turkish foreign policy directions and what's at stake for #Ankara. Thanks for having me! open.spotify.com/episode/0X7E...
Turchia, mediatore necessario o potenza ambigua?
open.spotify.com
📌 I shared a few thoughts with Il Foglio on the Turkish role in the Iran war 🇹🇷🇮🇷 Thanks to Stefano Mazzola!
📌 At @istanpol.bsky.social, we are launching our new Executive Program on Geopolitics & Political Risk Management for diplomats, analysts and policy professionals working on #Türkiye. 🇹🇷 🗓️ Two-week online program - April 27 - May 10 🔺 Applications and further info at: istanpol.org/en/post-exec...
📌 Pleased to share the review of @fededonelli.bsky.social's book "Power Competition in the Red Sea: Testing the Post-Liberal International Order" for Middle East Policy. 🔺 The #RedSea is one of the clearest areas where the post-LIO is being tested. onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/1475...
Middle East Policy
Click on the title to browse this journal
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
"The unspoken yet growing synergy in Turkey–Spain relations" by @riccardogasco.bsky.social and Samuele C. Abrami. [2/5]
The unspoken yet growing synergy in Turkey–Spain relations
Spanish-Turkish defense cooperation could help normalize Turkey as a security actor within the Euro-Atlantic perimeter.
atlanticcouncil.org
📌 It has been a great pleasure to deliver a guest lecture at Trieste University on Turkey’s domestic and foreign policy 🇹🇷 Thanks for having me!
📌 Thrilled to share our latest with Samuele Abrami for the @atlanticcouncil.bsky.social on #Turkey-#Spain relations! 🇹🇷🇪🇸 🔺 “What looks like symbolic ‘brotherhood’ is in fact a structural alignment built on security cooperation.” www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/turkey...
The unspoken yet growing synergy in Turkey–Spain relations
Spanish-Turkish defense cooperation could help normalize Turkey as a security actor within the Euro-Atlantic perimeter.
atlanticcouncil.org
📌 Thanks to @stmcneil.bsky.social for including my two cents in his article alongside @alexvatanka.bsky.social for @apnews.com on Iranians fleeing the country and the potential implications for #Turkey. 🇹🇷 🇮🇷 You can read the full article below! apnews.com/article/refu...
Iranians grapple with whether to flee the country because of the war
Iranians are having to make hard choices about whether to flee for safer locales during the war. Thus far, relatively few people have chosen to leave Iran: The U.N. estimates 3.2 million people have b...
apnews.com
📌 Looking forward to speaking at @unitrieste.bsky.social on 20 March about Turkish domestic and foreign policy 🇹🇷 🔺Together with @fededonelli.bsky.social and Federico Battera, we’ll discuss how domestic political transformation shapes Turkey’s international activism. Thanks for the invitation!
Well worth reading: on Turkey's response to the war on Iran.
Riccardo Gasco@riccardogasco.bsky.social · 7mo ago📌 What looks like ambiguity in Türkiye’s foreign policy may actually be a strategy. 🇹🇷 Ankara’s approach combines de-escalation, diplomatic flexibility, and domestic stabilization to avoid being trapped in a widening regional confrontation. New with Seren Korkmaz. istanpol.org/en/post-kurd...
@selvinkorkmaz.bsky.social and @riccardogasco.bsky.social write for @istanpol.bsky.social on Turkey, the Kurds, and the war on Iran istanpol.org/en/post-kurd...
Kurds, the Iran War, and Türkiye’s Strategy of Preventive Stabilization
The killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in joint U.S.–Israeli strikes on February 28 did more than decapitate a 47-year-long regime. It ac
istanpol.org
📌 What looks like ambiguity in Türkiye’s foreign policy may actually be a strategy. 🇹🇷 Ankara’s approach combines de-escalation, diplomatic flexibility, and domestic stabilization to avoid being trapped in a widening regional confrontation. New with Seren Korkmaz. istanpol.org/en/post-kurd...
Kurds, the Iran War, and Türkiye’s Strategy of Preventive Stabilization
The killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in joint U.S.–Israeli strikes on February 28 did more than decapitate a 47-year-long regime. It ac
istanpol.org
📌 I spoke with Giovanna Loccatelli for La Stampa on how Turkey reacted and positioned itself following the outbreak of the Iran war. 🇹🇷 www.lastampa.it/esteri/2026/...
Alleata Usa ma contro l'attacco: la posizione della Turchia nella guerra in Iran
Ankara vuole evitare l’escalation militare diretta ma è preoccupata per i curdi
lastampa.it
📌 Quoted in The National on Turkey’s response to the US–Israel–Iran war. 🇹🇷 Ankara is pushing for de-escalation and diplomacy, while preparing for potential spillovers—from refugee flows to security risks linked to Kurdish militant groups. www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...
How is Turkey responding to the US-Israel-Iran war? | The National
Unlike Gulf countries, Turkey has not been targeted in Iranian retaliation
thenationalnews.com
📌 Turkish decision-makers have long treated scenarios of rapid destabilization in Iran as inherently costly. 🇹🇷 🇮🇷 A few thoughts on the recent developments in the Middle East and #Ankara's role! substack.com/home/post/p-...
Turkey’s Dilemma: Hawks Demand Action, Elites Choose Diplomacy Amid US-Israel Iran Strikes
Public support for confronting Iran clashes with Ankara’s de-escalation push, as NATO surveillance and mediation offers test strategic balance
substack.com
Turkey’s Iran paradox is stark: public hawkishness vs elite de-escalation. Ankara opposes strikes less out of sympathy for Tehran than spillover risk management (PKK security pressure, displacement, corridor disruption).
Turkey’s Dilemma: Hawks Demand Action, Elites Choose Diplomacy Amid US-Israel Iran Strikes
Public support for confronting Iran clashes with Ankara’s de-escalation push, as NATO surveillance and mediation offers test strategic balance
substack.com
📌 Guest lecture at Trieste University on the geopolitics of rare earths — on Turkey’s role 🌍 and the implications for the EU. Critical raw materials are central to geoeconomics, industrial policy, and foreign policy. Thanks to @fededonelli.bsky.social and Federico Battera for the invitation.
This looks less like a change of model and more like an escalation in the means Turkey is willing to use to defend what it has already built in Somalia,” said @riccardogasco.bsky.social www-newarab-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.newa...
From aid to F-16s: Turkey s hard-power turn in Somalia
Turkey's deployment of F-16s to Somalia marks a deepening military footprint in the Horn of Africa at a time of escalating Red Sea rivalries
www-newarab-com.cdn.ampproject.org
📌 I was pleased to be quoted in @thenewarab.bsky.social by Jonathan Fenton-Harvey on Turkey’s F-16 deployment to Somalia. 🇹🇷 🇸🇴 🔺 Somalia is becoming a strategic maritime platform linking the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. Full article: www.newarab.com/analysis/aid...
From aid to F-16s: Turkey’s hard-power turn in Somalia
Turkey’s deployment of F-16s to Somalia marks a deepening military footprint in the Horn of Africa at a time of escalating Red Sea rivalries
newarab.com
📌 It's always a pleasure to contribute to the top newsletter on Turkish affairs @turkeyrecap.bsky.social! Thanks to @diegocupolo.bsky.social for including my two cents on the recent developments between #Türkiye and the #EU! 🇹🇷 🇪🇺
Turkey recap@turkeyrecap.bsky.social · 8mo agoIssue #292 is out with comments by @riccardogasco.bsky.social and more. Inside: 1. Regional security concerns revive EU-Turkey talks 2. New ministers signal more crackdowns ahead 3. Domestic and diplomatic wraps 4. Canned comms chief heading to Vatican?
📌 Check out our new ISPI commentary with Federico Donelli on Türkiye's potential role for the #EU in securing critical raw materials. 🇹🇷🇪🇺 www.ispionline.it/it/pubblicaz...
Turchia e terre rare: un’opzione per l’UE? | ISPI
Leggi l'articolo Turchia e terre rare: un’opzione per l’UE? sul sito dell'ISPI.
ispionline.it
📌 #EU FTAs with #India + Mercosur redraw #Europe’s trade map. #Türkiye is inside the market, outside the rules—Customs Union exposure, no say. That asymmetry is now a strategic risk. 🇹🇷🇪🇺 ✍️Check out my latest analysis for @istanpol.bsky.social! istanpol.org/en/post-eu-t...
EU trade acceleration with India and Mercosur: How it is reshaping Türkiye's competitive perimeter
For Türkiye, the European Union’s (EU) accelerating trade diplomacy is no longer a distant story about Brussels’ external agenda. It is a direc
istanpol.org
📌 #EU FTAs with #India + Mercosur redraw #Europe’s trade map. #Türkiye is inside the market, outside the rules—Customs Union exposure, no say. That asymmetry is now a strategic risk. 🇹🇷🇪🇺 ✍️Check out my latest analysis for @istanpol.bsky.social! istanpol.org/en/post-eu-t...
EU trade acceleration with India and Mercosur: How it is reshaping Türkiye's competitive perimeter
For Türkiye, the European Union’s (EU) accelerating trade diplomacy is no longer a distant story about Brussels’ external agenda. It is a direc
istanpol.org
📌Rare earths are becoming a key #geopolitical asset. With @riccardogasco.bsky.social, we analyze #Türkiye’s potential role for the #EU in securing #critical raw #materials. #ISPI online 👇 www.ispionline.it/it/pubblicaz...
Turchia e terre rare: un’opzione per l’UE? | ISPI
Leggi l'articolo Turchia e terre rare: un’opzione per l’UE? sul sito dell'ISPI.
ispionline.it
📌 Check out our new ISPI commentary with Federico Donelli on Türkiye's potential role for the #EU in securing critical raw materials. 🇹🇷🇪🇺 www.ispionline.it/it/pubblicaz...
Turchia e terre rare: un’opzione per l’UE? | ISPI
Leggi l'articolo Turchia e terre rare: un’opzione per l’UE? sul sito dell'ISPI.
ispionline.it
🎙️ Cose Turche News is back. New season, new format. 🇹🇷 New voices, longer episodes, and deeper dives into Turkey’s politics, society, and the wider region — every two weeks. 🎧 Episode 1 is out: a review of 2025 and early insights on what to expect in 2026. www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRvP...
Cosa è stato e cosa sarà in Turchia? - la prima puntata della seconda stagione!
YouTube video by Cose Turche News
youtube.com
And in case you missed it, our 2026 Predictions issue. [5/5]
2026 Predictions
aka "Turkey precap"
turkeyrecap.com
