Recent Highlights
September 22, 2026 — Guest on War on the Rocks' "The Insider" podcast, discussing with Samuele Abrami the narrowing window for Turkish-Kurdish reconciliation. Read more →
September 13, 2026 — Quoted in LA NACION on the "Pact of Mecca" defence agreement between Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, and how each country weighs Israel's role in the region. Read more →
September 4, 2026 — New article: "The Fruit of Patience: How Regional Shifts Ripened Turkey’s Path to Kurdish Reconciliation" (War on the Rocks). Read more →
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Biography
Riccardo Gasco is a political analyst and PhD Researcher in International Relations at the University of Bologna. Based in Istanbul since 2019, he serves as Foreign Policy Program Coordinator at
IstanPol, a leading Istanbul-based think tank, and advises governmental, institutional, and private-sector clients on Turkish foreign policy, regional security, and political risk in the Eastern Mediterranean. He has previously held research fellowships at the Istanbul Policy Center (IPC) and Sabanci University, working on Turkish foreign policy with a focus on Turkiye-Italy and EU relations.
Riccardo's research focuses on Turkiye's foreign policy, its strategic positioning between NATO and Russia, and the broader behavior of emerging middle powers in a shifting global order. He holds degrees in International Relations and Diplomatic Sciences from the University of Genoa and SOAS, University of London.
He frequently contributes analysis to Italian, Turkish, and international media, offering commentary on Turkiye's domestic politics, regional dynamics in the Middle East, and its complex relationships with Europe, the United States, China, and Russia. His publications cover topics such as Turkiye-China relations, the Kurdish issue, Turkish defense policy, EU-Turkiye relations, and broader questions of transatlantic diplomacy and strategic autonomy.
Latest on X
Oct 04, 2026 — Shared an FT piece, "China, America and the new Great Game." View on X →
Sep 30, 2026 — On Brussels considering gradual Single Market access for candidate countries before membership (via Politico), and what it means from Türkiye. View on X →
Sep 25, 2026 — Shared an FT interview with former US intelligence chief Avril Haines: "Trump trusts his gut more than the expertise." View on X →
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