MaxHoffman is the senior director of National Security and International Policy at American Progress, focusing on Turkey and the Kurdish regions; U.S. defense policy; and the intersection of climate change, human migration, and security concerns. He has organized and undertaken repeated research trips to Turkey, Iraq, Lebanon, Germany, and India.
Prior to joining American Progress, Hoffman worked on disarmament and security issues for the United Nations and the U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee. Hoffman has been published in a range of academic and news outlets. He received his M.A. in history from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.
Will Viktor Orbán Bring His Racist Rhetoric to the United States this Week?
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's embrace of far-right racism should prompt American conservatives to cut ties with the autocratic Hungarian leader.
Northern Syria Security Dynamics and the Refugee Crisis
Ensuring stability in northern Syria will require international engagement that balances humanitarian concerns with the moral hazard created by Turkey’s occupation.
Turkey’s pursuit of strategic autonomy should be met with firm transactionalism by the Biden administration, and while this stance is unlikely to change President Erdoğan’s unilateral approach, it could help preserve certain institutional ties.
Polling shows that members of Europe’s Turkish and Turkish-Kurdish diaspora value their separate identity; nevertheless, they welcome the opportunities and freedom of life in Europe, even in the face of lingering discrimination.
Turkey’s President Erdoğan Is Losing Ground at Home
Generational change and shifting attitudes in conservative Turkey could bring fragmentation of the dominant right-wing bloc and, potentially, a new political alignment—prospects that will continue to shape President Erdoğan’s actions at home and abroad.
Turkey issued new rules for social media. That may mean that media censorship wasn’t working.
Max Hoffman and Alan Makovsky discuss how Turkey's move to effectively ban Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube is another step in the country's push to control the media.
Government censorship is rapidly reshaping how Turks get their news, with major implications for Turkish foreign policy, political polarization, and Erdoğan’s rule.
Turkish Conservatives’ Loyalty to Erdoğan and Views on Potential Successors
While President Erdoğan’s support is not boundless, no potential successor currently appears able to hold together the diverse conservative constituency that dominates Turkish politics.
President Trump’s withdrawal from Syria has thrown the region into chaos, shattered American credibility, and uncovered deep problems with U.S. policy toward Turkey.
The Effects of a Suspension of Turkey’s EU Accession Process
In this study, Max Hoffman and Michael Werz discuss the state of Turkey's accession to the European Union, as well as effects of the process's possible, though unlikely, suspension.
The benefits of rapprochement between the Turkish government and Kurdish militants are clear, but hopes for an easing of tensions rest on shaky political ground.
