Picture above of Syrian insurgents, long before the rise of Daesh. Photo: Stefan Bladh

One Thousand and One Stories

TURKEY & Middle East analyst

I am a freelance journalist, writer, analyst & consultant with a focus on Turkey, Middle East and North Africa – and a Senior Associate Fellow at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI). I am frequently invited to lecture and to comment events in Turkey and the MENA region, mostly for Swedish and other Nordic media, but also for non-Scandinavian media.

In 2018–2020 I held a position at the Swedish Defence Research Agency (FOI) as a Middle East Analyst at the Asia and Middle East Programme. Prior to that, in 2017–2018, I headed the Middle East & North Africa program at UI.

Moreover, I have worked as a Senior Advisor to the Swedish Institute (SI) on Middle East issues, 2016–2017, and as a Consultant for the Center Against Violent Extremism (CVE), a Swedish government agency, as well as for SALAR (Swedish Association of Local Governments and Regions, SKR) in relation to their development projects in Turkey, Lebanon and Iraq. On and off I moderate seminars, see this link. My comments as an analyst to Swedish media are found on this link. My lectures in various forums here; my recent journalism here. More about my books below.

JOURNALIST, EDITOR, WRITER

For more than 30 years I worked as a journalist, mainly at the Swedish daily Svenska Dagbladet, where I was the Turkey and Middle East Correspondent for twelve years, 2001–2012, partly based in Beirut and Istanbul. In 2013–2015, I worked on a freelance basis.

In 2016–2018 was the Chief Editor and Publisher of Utrikesmagasinet, online magazine of the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, UI.

News comments – in non-nordic languages

Turkey vote on Sweden NATO bid appears imminent – Maybe.

Interviewed by Diego Cupolo, editor-in-chief of Turkey Recap, together with a number of other voices.

Published 20 December 2023. Link here.

EU suggests visa-bans on Israeli settlers, following US example

Quotes on Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood and Qatar in EUObserver, Brussels 7 December 2023. Link.

Le Monde: Elargissement de l’OTAN : la Suède estime avoir rempli ses engagements vis-à-vis de la Turquie

Interviewed by Le Monde’s Sweden correspondent Anne-Françoise Hivert. 13 June 2023. The article is likely to appear in an English version also. Link to the French original.

Radio Sweden Weekly: NATO next steps unclear following Turkish elections

Interviewed while in Istanbul, a few days after the first round of the presidential elections, in May 2023.

New book

Never-Ending Drama: Turkey at 100

In April 2023, a new book on Turkey by the photographer Stefan Bladh and me was published in Swedish by the publishing house Bokförlaget Atlas.

The title in English translation: Never-Ending Drama: Turkey at 100.

The website Free Turkish Press made an interview with me in English:

Bitte Hammargren: “If Erdogan Fails to Win, He Might End Up in Court”

Link here.

The interview is also translated to Turkish.

Hammargren: ‘Türk milliyetçiliği demokrasinin gelişmesine reçete olamaz’

Link here.

“A solid overview of Turkey’s history”

“The book provides a solid overview of Turkey's history as the country approaches its centenary this autumn, with insightful and well-written text paired with numerous color photographs. It covers the republic's history from the time it was proclaimed by Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk) on October 29, 1923 until the beginning of this year, including the devastating earthquake in February”, writes Svante Lundgren in a review in the Swedish language cultural magazine Ny Tid (New Times) in Finland. Link here to a short translation to English.

Awards: 

2008 – Swedish Publisher's Great Award (Publicistklubbens stora pris).

2017 – Argus Prize of Humanities (Arguspriset) by the Royal Society for Human Sciences in Uppsala. More about the award here (in Swedish)

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earlier Contributions – in English & other langauges 2023

LE MONDE: ADHÉSION DE LA SUÈDE À L’OTAN: LES RAISONS D’UNE IMPASSE

Feb 4, 2023. A comprehensive article, explaining the reasons for Sweden’s NATO membership deadlock, with many interviewees, me including. Written by Le Monde’s Sweden correspondent Anne-Françoise Hivert. Link to the original French version here.

LE Monde: Reasons for Sweden’s NATO membership deadlock

Le Monde’s English version of the article on this link.

LATVIAN TV: INTERViewed about Sweden, Nato and Turkey

Link to the tv broadcast here, on Jan 29, 2023, under a title in Latvian: Turcija varētu bloķēt Zviedrijas dalību NATO.

Austrian radio: interview on why turkey is blocking Sweden’s nato bid

Interviewed in Engelska by Verena Maier för the Austrian Radio. “Warum die Türkei Schwedens NATO-Beitritt blockiert”.

Ö1 Morgenjournal, 28.1. | Radio Ö1. Listen here.

deutsche Welle tûrkçe: NATO genişlemesi çıkmaza mı girdi? (is nato’s enlargement blocked?)

Commenting for DW Türkçe. Interview dated Jan, 2023. Link to DW here.

The comment was picked up from a column that I wrote for a Swedish trade union magazine, Arbetsvärlden. Link to the column here: Därför utgick påbudet att tysta kritik mot Turkiet (This is why a call to silence criticism about Turkey was made).

TURKEY RECAP: Stub your nato

A comment for Turkey Recap about the arms wrestling between Sweden and Turkey on the Swedes and Finns NATO bid, and why PM Ulf Kristersson should stick to a new tone we heard from him lately: That Turkey is asking concessions from Sweden that we can’t give, due to our rule of law and freedom of expression.

“More than six months after the NATO summit in Madrid, it is clear that Sweden's and Finland's NATO application cannot be successfully completed through bilateral or trilateral negotiations with Turkey alone. Maybe not even if the Nordic countries would fall flat for an authoritarian leader who gets along well with Russia. And that was not the intention of Sweden's and Finland's security policy turnaround after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February.”

For more, see Turkey Recap, issue #149, Jan 12, 2023. Via this link.

SEMINAR

Swedish PEN together with the Swedish Writers’ Association, the Playwrites Association and Olof Palme International Center arranged a seminar on Turkey, ahead of the Nato summit, on June 1. I gave an analysis of Turkey’s demands for Sweden’s and Finland’s Nato bid. Other speakers: Ragip Zarakolu, honorary member of Swedish PEN; Burhan Sönmez, head of PEN International; Viveka Sjögren Bangoura from the Writers’ Association. Moderated by Kurdo Baksi. The whole seminar – which was held in English – can be seen on YouTube.

Media comments – IN English & more 2022

Erdoğan wants to use Sweden as a battering ram within NATO

Was asked to write an analysis for the Swedish online magazine Mänsklig Säkerhet (Human Security) on Sweden, Turkey, NATO and North East Syria. The article was picked up by Medyanews, which translated and published it in English, without asking me or the publisher for copyright – which runs counter to media standards. Having said that, I am grateful for reaching a possibly wider readership. (Have not double-checked the translation, so I cannot tell if something was lost in translation).

Link to English translation here, published on December 15, 2022.

bianet: ‘There is a limit as to how far Sweden can go to meet Erdoğan’s demands’

Interviewed by the Turkish online magazine Bianet on the Swedish ‘paradigm shift’ in foreign policy. Mostly vis-à-vis Turkey, but not only. The interview is available in both Turkish and English. Published 27 November 2022. Link in English here.

Link in Turkish here.

turekey Recap: “Strategic patience needed vis-a-vis Turkey”

Commenting the Swedish PM Ulf Kristersson’s visit to Ankara on Nov 9, where he failed to get President Erdogan’s green light for Sweden’s NATO bid. My take is that the Swedish PM should reconsider his haste, not give Erdogan more concessions than those that were already made by the previous government in the trilateral MoU from the NATO summit in June. Kristersson should use strategic patience vis-à-vis Pres. Erdogan. Sweden and Finland already have security guarantees from the most important NATO countries and are practically members in the Alliance – whereas Erdogan cannot take a win in the upcoming elections for granted and has made Turkey the stumbling block for a most vital enlargement of the Alliance in times of the Russian aggression against Ukraine. Erdogan wishes to see Swedish concessions that he can use in his electoral campaign. Don’t give him that, Prime Minister Kristersson! It would only increase President Erdogan’s appetite for more.

Link to the article here, published Nov 10, 2022, in Turkey Recap.

Al-MONITOR: ”MANY OF US ADVOCATE THAT SWEDEN REMAINS PATIENT AND PRINCIPLED”

Commenting the visit of Sweden’s Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson’s upcoming visit to Ankara. For al-Monitor, 31 October 2022. Link here.

Al-MONITOR: KURDS IN SWEDEN ON EDGE AS TURKEY PRESSES GOVERNMENT TO DITCH THEM IN EXCHANGE FOR NATO MEMBERSHIP

Amberin Zaman wrote a comprehensive and timely article for al-Monitor - from Sweden - with many and mostly named sources (myself included). 6 June 2022, Link to the article here.

VOICE of america (kurmanjî): WHAT DO EXPERTS AND RESEARCHERS SAY ABOUT NATO AND TURKEY IN STOCKHOLM?

Voice of America’s Kurdish edition made a comprehensive reportage from Stockholm, available on a link to Facebook here. This broadcast includes parts of my speech at at Swedish PEN meeting on June 1, 2022. Among other interviewees you find Paul Levin and Cengiz Çandar.

Deutsche Welle: “It is not about Sweden, The core dispute is between the US and Turkey”

Interviewed by Deutsche Welle’s Turkish edition about the crisis between Turkey and Sweden. This article is only available in Turkish. From May 20, 2022. Link here.

Radio Sweden: ERDOGAN WANTS TO BE SEEN AS 'PROTECTOR OF TURKEY'S PRIDE' IN NATO BLOCK

Interviewed by David Russell for Radio Sweden’s weekly podcast, an in-depth analysis and reaction to Sweden’s decision to join Nato, in tandem with Finland. Link here. 19 May 2022.

Events and publications:

Syrians in Turkey: Cohabitation under increasing stress

Ahead of Turkey’s upcoming elections, and aggravated by Republic’s economic crisis, anti-Syrian sentiments are on the rise in Turkey – which hosts the world’s largest refugee population. Together with the photographer Stefan Bladh, I have profiled Syrians in various locations and socioeconomic situations in Turkey.

The 48 pages report, which was commissioned by a Sida-funded project from the Swedish Association of Local Authorities and Regions (SKR), can be downloaded via this link.

This page also contains a link to the video interviews that Stefan Bladh and I made with several Syrians in Turkey.

Iraqis striving for change: “We want a homeland”

My February 2022 report on the complicated and challenging political context in Iraq, based on my interviews with leading Shiite clerics in Najaf; young protesters in the south and Baghdad, civil servants, female professionals in a conservative environment & more. Commissioned by SKL International. Link to read and download here.

My Iraq report was discussed on 1 March 2022 at a webinar co-hosted by the Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI), and Sweden’s Association of Local Authorities (SKR). In the panel: Lahib Higel, senior Iraq analyst at International Crisis Group, Gunnar Andersson, in charge of SKR’s Iraq project, and myself. Moderator: Rouzbeh Parsi, head of the UI’s MENA Programme. To see the webinar, click this link.

Iraq at a crossroads – between sectarianism and a functional state

Report about the current political status in Iraq, commissioned by SALAR (Sweden’s Association of Local Governments and Regions), SKL Interational. Finalized on November 8, 2021, four weeks after the parliamentary elections.

24 pages.

To read and download, please click on this link.

Moderating the launch of Cengiz Çandar’s latest book on Turkey

Turkey’s Neo-Ottomanist Moment, November 2021.

In the panel also Aslı Aydıntasbas, an associate senior policy fellow with the Wider Europe programme at the European Council on Foreign Relation.

EU-Turkey Migration deal can turn into a race to the bottom

My contribution ahead of the Lennart Meri Conference 2021, published by Diplomaatia of the International Centre for Defence and Security in Tallinn. Link here.

Lebanon has not reached its nadir yet – Impunity and corruption have become chronic diseases.

Article in PenOpp, the online magazine of Swedish PEN, 18 June 2021. Link here.

Lebanon’s Disadvantaged Face a Long Uphill battle

A report on the challenges and opportunities for donors and development actors in a country torn by multiple crises. Focusing on Akkar, one of Lebanon's poorest provinces, which is also the temporary home for numerous refugees from Syria. Report commissioned for a SIDA funded project by SKL International (branch of Sweden’s Association for Local Authorities and Regions).

44 pages.

The report’s main findings were presented by me and discussed by panelists in a webinar hosted by SKL International.

Discussants: Prof. Joseph Bahout, Director of Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy and International Affairs (IFI) at American University of Beirut (AUB)

Souraya Hammoud, Project Manager, SKL International, RESLOG Lebanon

Marija de Wijn, Chief Technical Advisor UNDP/UN-Habitat, Municipal Empowerment and Resilience Project (MERP)

BOOK LAUNCH OF TURKEY’S MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: WAR AND PEACE WITH THE KURDS BY CENGIZ ÇANDAR

Turkey’s Mission Impossible: War and Peace with the Kurds (Lexington Books) is the opus magnum of the renowned Turkish journalist Cengiz Çandar. In our talk, Cengiz Çandar explains why he considers the Kurdish question to be ”the mother of all questions in Turkey” and how he came to be the special advisor to late President Turgut Özal in his attempt to make a historical rapprochement with the Kurds in the early 1990’s. Plus much more. The talk, co-hosted by Stockholm University Institute for Turkish Studies (SUITS) and the Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI), can be seen via the YouTube link above.

SYRIANS IN TURKEY: GUESTS WITHOUT A FUTURE?

Millions of Syrians in Turkey are stuck in a limbo, without a future horizon. They cannot return to Syria and cannot get a permanent residence in Turkey. Yet at the local level, many officials in Turkey are aware that the republic is undergoing a transformation, and that Syrians are there to stay. So what to do?
Read my report for SKL-International (branch of SKR/SALAR, Swedish Association of Local Governments and Regions

36 pages. Link to the report here.

published author

In 2023, a new book on Turkey by me and the photographer Stefan Bladh will appear (in Swedish): Drama utan slut: Turkiet 100 år (Bokförlaget Atlas).

More about the book on this link.

In 2014 my book Gulfen – en framtida krutdurk (The Gulf - a future tinderbox) featuring the six monarchies on the Arabian Peninsula, with a special focus on Saudi Arabia, was published (in Swedish, see picture). The first edition was sold out. An updated edition was released in 2015. 

I am the co-author of several edited books. One from 2016, Ickevåldets vägar: fred i terrorns tid (Marcus förlag) discusses the possibilities for non-violent resistance in times of wars, conflict and terror. The book is written together with Professor Isak Svensson at the Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University, Joel Halldorf, Associate Professor of Church History at the Stockholm School of Theology and Sofia Walan from the Study center Bilda.

I have also contributed to several edited books in Swedish, among them one about the rise of ISIS/Daesh (2016), another about Syria (2015) and a third about the Arab Spring in Egypt (2011).

More Publications in English:

NAVIGATING IN A COMPLEX NEIGHBORHOOD: ALGERIA’S RESPONSES TO SECURITY CHALLENGES IN LIBYA AND THE SAHEL

Algeria, by surface area the largest country in Africa, shares borders with two conflict hotspots – Libya and the Sahel. In a FOI report from May 2020, co-authored with the FOI analyst Alexandra Hallqvist, we aim at providing a comprehensive analysis of how Algeria is dealing with the security challenges emanating from its neighbouring countries.

The report can be downloaded for free on this link.

Iraq moving closer into Iran’s orbit

FOI Memo 7024. Published in February 2020. Iraq’s inherent weakness and corruption makes it prone to foreign meddling and increases the risk of the country becoming a battle field time and again – between the United States and Iran, as well as fertile soil for the next generation of Salafi jihadists. Iran has benefited from Iraq's instability by filling power vacuums to enhance its strategic strategic depth in the Arab world. A weak government in Baghdad, underpinned by pro-Iranian paramilitary forces, serve Tehran's interest.

To read and download, click on this link.

TURKEY’S TIGHTROPE ACT: STAYING IN NATO WHILE WARMING TOWARDS RUSSIA

Published in February 2019.

Click on this link a to download.

Authoritarian at home – Impulsive abroad: President Erdogan's foreign policy in the Middle East 

UI Brief, No 7, 2018.

The UI Brief can be downloaded for free on this link. It is an extended and elaborated version of a chapter on Turkey under Erdogan that I wrote for the e-book The Future of the Middle East, edited by Alastair Newton and Hugh Miles (2017).

It also appeared in Global Policy Journal and Arab Digest:

An Impulsive Actor in the Middle East. 

Background

I have traveled in the MENA region since I was young in the 1970s, first heading to Morocco and later to Lebanon during the civil war. I also worked as a librarian at Bir Zeit University on the occupied West Bank in 1982–1983. During this period I decided to become a journalist.

As a correspondent for many years, and later as a free lance, I reported from Morocco in the West to Iran in the East, from Sudan and Oman in the South to Turkey in the North – plus the remote Armenian enclave Nagorno-Karabach. During the 1990s I was Political and EU Affairs reporter at Svenska Dagbladet.

I have reported from many hot spots, wars and conflicts throughout the years. I covered the Arab Spring in 2011, traveling between Tunisia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Libya and Syria.

I have interviewed many high profile political actors as well as many prominent writers from the MENA region. I have also interviewed some of the most courageous advocates for human and women's rights, in countries like Iran, Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Some of them were later silenced by long prison terms, in spite of their peaceful advocacy.

Cooperation with photo journalists

I have had the pleasure to work with many fine photographers like former colleagues at Svenska Dagbladet, Malin Hoelstad, Yvonne Åsell, Dan Hansson and Jurek Holzer, as well as excellent free lance photo journalists like Stefan Bladh from Sweden.

Stefan Bladh kindly contributed to this site with several of his outstanding pictures from our joint travels. The picture above, by Stefan Bladh, is from our travel to rebel held territory in Syria in 2013.

My husband and frequent travel companion Per Luthander, who has had a long career as a reporter at the Swedish daily Dagens Nyheter, took many pictures to my articles over the years. Many of my own pictures from various journeys have also been published.