01
DIRECTION REPORTS
Core direction texts produced through reviews of academic and think tank literature and expert workshops, developed continuously.
Independent think tank
PROCESSED KNOWLEDGE
FOR DECISION-MAKERS
Denge Institute produces the evidence-based analysis and policy recommendations required by a politics built on democracy, equality and social peace. Its work addresses Turkey's wider political public.
Positioning
A new-generation Turkish think tank
READING TURKEY THROUGH DATA, BUILDING BRIDGES
We are an independent think tank that reads Turkey through data and bridges decision-makers and society.
Our aim: turn knowledge into strategy and feed decision-making processes.
Three crises in Turkey's knowledge production
01
LACK OF DATA
Current, comparable and accessible data to inform decisions is missing.
02
STERILE POLICY OUTPUT
Policy proposals repeat familiar patterns and rarely offer workable options.
03
INEFFECTIVE, ALIGNED SCENE
The intellectual scene is aligned and ineffective; its output never reaches decision-makers.
Our strategic position
- Deep command of the Kurdish issue, but not limited to it
- An approach that analyses Turkey as a whole
- A production model running from local data to national strategy
- A multi-centre structure across Ankara, Istanbul and Diyarbakır
01 — Finding and Assumption
POLITICS NEEDS A RELIABLE GUIDE
In Turkey, the guides available to political parties and movements for producing policy at central level are limited: party programmes are too general, while parliamentary and executive decisions are too immediate. Reliance on historical habit, a normative and reactive posture, and the absence of analysis fed by updated knowledge are their shared features.
Changing this requires other guides that are continuous, reliable and institutionally settled. A think tank that is close to a political line yet autonomous from institutional hierarchies, able to separate itself from historical and normative habits, and whose core mission is to prepare evidence-based analysis for decision-makers can be one of them.
CONTINUOUS
A flow of knowledge based on regular production, not on the news cycle.
RELIABLE
Analysis with clear sources that can be traced and verified.
SETTLED
An institutional, lasting and cumulative working memory.
02 — Mission
PRODUCING KNOWLEDGE THAT CAN BE USED TO DEVELOP POLICY
We produce a kind of translated knowledge: nourished by scholarly publications, expert reports, field research and media commentary, yet distinct from all of them and prepared for the use of practitioners of politics. Not a model that covers every field equally, but one that goes deep in a few core areas at different levels and in different formats.
FROM SCHOLARSHIP
It draws on academic work, but is less distant and abstract.
FROM MEDIA
It draws on news and commentary, but is less normative and less buried in the daily cycle.
FROM EXPERT REPORTS
It draws on them, but is less over-processed and technical.
FROM FIELD DATA
It draws on survey data, but is less raw than field reports.
03 — Production Lines
KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION AT SIX LEVELS
From weekly briefings to open-ended direction reports: six production lines, each with its own rhythm, depth and purpose.
02
POLICY RECOMMENDATION REPORTS
Reports developing applicable recommendations in each of the five main policy areas.
03
MONITORING REPORTS
Periodic texts reporting the actions taken in the five main areas over three months, the reactions to them and their implications.
04
EXPERT REPORTS
Short, rapid reports commissioned from external experts on issues that suddenly dominate the agenda.
05
BAROMETER ANALYSIS
Analyses of the trajectory of voter preferences and reactions to current issues, based on field research.
06
WEEKLY BRIEFINGS
Short, functional notes in the format of “what happened last week” and “the agenda of the coming week”.
04 — Direction
FOUR QUESTIONS, FOUR DIRECTION REPORTS
Turkey's position, shaped within the post-war architecture, and the economic and political identity formed within it have been changing for thirty years. Direction reports map global trajectories and the alignments and resistances Turkey may show towards them.
01
TURKISH FOREIGN POLICY WITHIN GLOBAL POLITICS
02
THE TURKISH ECONOMY WITHIN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY
03
TURKISH DEMOCRACY WITHIN ITS GLOBAL TRAJECTORY
04
SOCIAL PEACE WITHIN CONFLICT RESOLUTION EXPERIENCE
05 — Policy Areas
RECOMMENDATION AND MONITORING IN FIVE CORE AREAS
One policy recommendation report per area each year and a monitoring report every quarter. Depending on how the agenda evolves, certain sub-headings are brought to the fore.
DEMOCRACY
- Constitution and system of government
- Judicial independence
- Fundamental rights and freedoms
- Internal security, media, civil society
FOREIGN POLICY
- Syria, Iraq, Iran and their relations with Turkey
- Political and trade relations with the EU
- Emerging relations with Asia
- Trade routes and the development corridor
- International security and regional equations
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
- Economy
- Ecology
- Education and health
- Cities
SOCIAL JUSTICE
- Poverty and unemployment
- Gender
- Disadvantaged groups
SOCIAL PEACE
- The Kurdish question and resolution processes
- Truth and justice
- Minorities
- Freedom of belief and worship
06 — Institutional Structure
FIVE CORE FEATURES
01
PROFESSIONALISM
A permanent group of professionals leading the core areas of work, within an institutional workspace.
02
FLEXIBILITY
A flexible structure drawing on external professionals for reports, briefings and field research.
03
AUTONOMY
Work autonomous from any party hierarchy and from the pressure of the electoral calendar and daily agenda.
04
CONTACT
Continuous contact with universities, scholars, expert organisations, rights groups, research companies and the media.
05
TRANSPARENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY
An institutional practice that is transparent, traceable and accountable in its activities and budget.
07 — Operation
RHYTHM AND DEPTH
- Weekly: agenda briefings
- Monthly: barometer analyses
- Quarterly: monitoring reports
- Annual: policy recommendation reports
- 1–2 updates a year: direction reports
- As needed: expert reports
08 — Interlocutors
WHO WE ENGAGE WITH
- Political decision-makers
- Universities and scholars
- Expert organisations and think tanks
- Rights groups and civil society
- Research companies
- The media
09 — Team and Advisory Board
CORE TEAM AND ADVISORY BOARD
Roj Girasun
Founder, Director General
Reha Ruhavioğlu
Founder, Strategy Director
Mesut Yeğen
Founder, Academic Coordinator
Rona Şenol
Publications Coordinator
Mehmet İlhanlı
Research Coordinator
Berfin Coşkun
Outreach Manager
Deniz Baran
Researcher
Reyhan Aktar
Researcher
Pınar Gürer
Researcher
Abdurrahman Keskin
Researcher
Advisory Board
- Vahap Coşkun
- Hatem Ete
- Galip Dalay
- Hamit Bozarslan
- Arzu Yılmaz
- Evren Balta
- Bekir Ağırdır
- Etyen Mahçupyan
- Gönül Tol
- Aslı Aydıntaşbaş
- Yasir Atalan
- Selahattin Demirtaş
Service Lines
OUTPUT AND SERVICE PORTFOLIO
Alongside regular publication lines, analysis and research services for institutional actors.
TURKEY PERSPECTIVE
Quarterly (first two years)
Data-based research and strategy reports.
AGENDA NOTES
Monthly
Short 2–4 page analyses.
DENGE DIALOGUES
Quarterly + annual meeting
Closed sessions bringing decision-makers and experts together.
ADVISORY & BRIEFING
On request
Tailored analysis and content for institutional actors.
FOREIGN POLICY REPORTS
Project-based
Strategic content for international institutions.
MARKET & BRAND RESEARCH
On request
Audience and public opinion analysis as a data service for business.
Audience and Model
TARGET AUDIENCE AND REVENUE MODEL
Our audience
- Political parties
- Bureaucracy and decision-makers
- Media organisations
- NGOs and think tanks
- International actors and funders
- Companies and investors
Our revenue model
- Institutional subscriptions
- Advisory work and commissioned reports
- Funded projects
- Publishing and content partnerships
- International foreign policy reports
- Market research services
Newsletter
WEEKLY AGENDA BRIEFING
Subscribe to receive our “what happened last week” and “the week ahead” briefings, plus new reports, by email.
SubscribeYour address is used only to send the newsletter.
Press
PRESS AND INTERVIEW REQUESTS
Write to our communications team for expert comment, data requests, interviews and event invitations.
Press contact10 — Contact
LET'S WORK TOGETHER
Reach out for research collaborations, expert contributions and workshop invitations.
info@dengeenstitusu.orgAnkara, Türkiye
RESEARCH
Direction, policy recommendation and monitoring reports
WORKSHOPS
Thematic sessions with experts once or twice a year
ADVISORY
Expert reports and briefings on request