The Centre for Applied Turkey Studies (CATS) analyses political, economic and social developments in Turkey and their implications for EU-Turkey relations. CATS researchers and fellows also develop research-based policy recommendations and knowledge, targeting primarily decision-makers and the public in Germany and Europe. 

CATS and its Network aim to inform the EU’s long-term relations with Turkey, and to contribute to strategy-driven and coherent Turkey policy of the EU, and to help place the relationship on realistic foundations. Turkey is thus perceived as an actor with pronounced regional and sometimes global aspirations.

Thanks to CATS Network, CATS also acts as a hub and curator of a European and transatlantic space of think tanks and research institutions. Through cultivating contact with and among European, Turkish and American think tanks and research centres, CATS Network fosters expert and policy exchanges on Turkey. As such, it aims to initiate and inform strategic policy debates within the EU on Turkey-related matters. CATS collaborates with its network partners and distributes scholarships.

CATS‘ research priorities:

• Electoral autocracy and the emergence of a new political generation
• Turkey as a middle power: ambitions and challenges for Europe

With its broad foreign policy expertise, CATS at SWP is well-placed to ensure that the regional and global dynamics that shape Turkish politics are always taken into consideration.

The Centre for Applied Turkey Studies (CATS) is funded by Stiftung Mercator and the Federal Foreign Office.