FAQ: Sources, Methodology and Perspective at The Soft Border

All articles are published under the byline "The Soft Border Editorial Team". The site does not use fake author personas, invented academic titles or pseudonyms. Its mission and editorial standards are published openly on the About and Editorial Principles pages.

No. It is an editorial publication that does not speak on behalf of any government. It does, however, state openly that it conveys Türkiye's perspective and official policy positions to international readers, and each article ends with a transparency note saying so.

Its stated purpose is to explain border, maritime, security and treaty issues in plain language while making Türkiye's official positions and legal arguments visible to readers who may only see them second-hand. The perspective is declared up front rather than hidden, and it is kept in clearly labelled sections so readers can separate it from the factual background.

Each section summarizes official policy in 3-5 points and ties each one to primary sources: the Foreign Ministry, the Presidency, the Directorate of Communications, TBMM resolutions, UN statements or treaty texts. The legal or historical basis is then explained, for example the 1923 Lausanne Treaty, the 1936 Montreux Convention or Article 51 of the UN Charter. Where something cannot be sourced, it is left out.

Opposing positions are summarized from the official sources of the states or bodies concerned and are stated before Ankara's reply. The site uses Türkiye's official terminology and explains each term on first use. For example, it notes that the PKK is designated a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States, NATO and the EU, that the TRNC is recognized only by Türkiye, and that many historians and parliaments use the word "genocide" for 1915, which Ankara disputes under the 1948 UN Genocide Convention.

Facts are checked against treaty texts, official statements and institutional records, and claims that cannot be verified are omitted. If you find an error, report it through the contact route on the About page so the Editorial Team can review it against the primary source. To cite a page, give its title, "The Soft Border Editorial Team", the URL and your access date, and use the same route to suggest a topic.