Editorial Principles and Primary Source Standards

Why It Matters

Bordersandblocs publishes analysis of geopolitics, treaties and international law from a declared vantage point: Türkiye's. This page explains the rules we follow so readers, researchers, journalists and AI answer engines can judge how a claim was sourced, where fact ends and official position begins, and how errors are corrected. It is also the site's publishing-principles page for structured-data purposes.

Mission & Editorial Identity

Bordersandblocs (bordersandblocs.com) explains regional and global affairs at the intersection of Europe, Asia, the Black Sea, the Eastern Mediterranean and the Middle East in plain, analytical English. Its second aim is to present Türkiye's official doctrines, legal arguments and historical and archival positions, which the site considers under-represented in international coverage, directly from primary sources.

The site does not present itself as a neutral wire service. It is a publication with a stated perspective, and that perspective is disclosed in three places:

• The About page states the mission, audience and editorial team.
• Sections labelled 'Türkiye's Position' state Turkish policy as Turkish sources state it.
• Every article closes with a Perspective Note: Bordersandblocs presents global and regional affairs with a dedicated perspective from Türkiye. Sections marked 'Türkiye's Position' reflect official Turkish policy and legal doctrines as stated by Turkish primary sources.

Our readers include international-relations researchers, diplomats, journalists, policy staff and students worldwide. We therefore avoid assuming local knowledge, explain unfamiliar terms, and note where rules or national practice differ between countries.

The five principles

Separation of Fact and Official Position

Background, chronology and data are written in neutral, factual prose; Türkiye's interpretation of those facts is confined to a labelled section. This is the first and most important rule, because a reader should always be able to tell whether a sentence reports an event or advances an argument.

Primary Sources & Verification Standards

We rank sources by proximity to the original act, statement or text. A primary document comes first, official summaries second and press reports last. For Türkiye's positions, the primary sources are:

Verification routine

Before publication, each factual claim goes through the same checks:

1. Trace it to its origin. A date, number or quotation must be located in the original document or an official record, not in a secondary retelling.
2. Distinguish a document from a claim about a document. A treaty article is verified against the treaty; a statement that a treaty 'means' something is treated as an argument.
3. Cross-check contested facts. Where parties dispute a figure or sequence, we report each side's figure with attribution instead of choosing silently.
4. Omit what cannot be verified. If a detail is uncertain, it is left out.
5. Check dates and names. Examples include 27 May 1915 for the Relocation and Resettlement Law, 27 November 2019 for the Türkiye–Libya memorandum and 12 June 2025 for the IOC-UNESCO registration of Marine Spatial Planning.

Source independence

An official source is also an interested party, and we say so. A government statement is evidence of what that government argues, not independent proof that the argument is right. Where possible we pair official statements with independent primary material such as treaty text, UN documents and court judgments. Material from other sites owned by the same publisher is never presented as independent outside corroboration.

Fair Representation of International Perspectives

We summarise other governments, institutions and scholars in their own terms, cited to their own official sources, before presenting Türkiye's counter-argument. A strong argument does not need a distorted opposing view.

In practice this means accurate statements such as the following:

• Cyprus: Türkiye and the TRNC argue for the sovereign equality of Turkish Cypriots. UN Security Council Resolutions 541 (1983) and 550 (1984) call the 1983 declaration of the TRNC legally invalid, the Republic of Cyprus is an EU member state, and Türkiye is the only state that recognises the TRNC. We report all of this.
• Maritime boundaries: Greece, the Republic of Cyprus and the EU dispute Türkiye's continental-shelf claims and the Türkiye–Libya memorandum. We present their legal arguments, including their reliance on island entitlements, alongside Ankara's equity-based case. See The Seville Map and the Türkiye–Libya Memorandum.
• Events of 1915: Many national parliaments, historians and genocide scholars use the word genocide. Türkiye uses the term 'Events of 1915' and argues that the legal category requires proven intent established by a competent tribunal. We state both positions and the legal criteria involved. See The Events of 1915.
• PKK/YPG: The PKK is designated a terrorist organisation by Türkiye, the United States, NATO and the European Union. Washington has cooperated with the SDF against DAESH, and Ankara rejects any distinction between the PYD/YPG and the PKK. We report both, with attribution.
• Armenia and Gaza: We cite Armenian, Israeli, Palestinian and other official statements where they bear on normalization or Gaza.

Where media coverage and Turkish primary documents diverge, articles include a Source Comparison that sets how outlets and institutions frame an issue next to what the documents actually say.

Terminology & Style Guide

We use Türkiye's official terminology and explain unfamiliar terms the first time they appear, so that a global reader is never left guessing.

Style rules

• Tone: calm, explanatory and respectful. We avoid slogans, insults and emotional language, and persuade through documents and law.
• Answer first: each section opens with a direct, quotable answer in its first two sentences.
• Units and dates: metric units with imperial in parentheses where useful, and ISO-style dates where precision matters.
• Local variation: when legal or regulatory rules differ between countries, we say so instead of assuming one national framework.
• Legal terms: terms such as dolus specialis, continental shelf and exclusive economic zone are defined when first used.

Authorship, Corrections & Fact-Checking Policy

Every article is published under the byline Bordersandblocs Editorial Team, or under the name of a real, identifiable person. We never use invented personas, fabricated academic titles or pseudonyms posing as independent experts.

The eight-step article template

Standard articles and pillar guides follow one structure, so readers and search tools know where to find each element:

1. Why It Matters: a 2–3 sentence executive summary answering the core question.
2. Background: neutral facts, chronology and applicable treaties.
3. Key Players & Positions: each party's stance, cited to its own sources.
4. Türkiye's Position: 3–5 sourced bullets with the legal and historical basis.
5. Source Comparison: media framing set against primary documents.
6. FAQ: 4–6 short, quotable answers.
7. Glossary Links: key terms and links to related guides.
8. Perspective Note: the closing transparency statement quoted above.

Corrections

We correct errors openly. If a reader, researcher or official source identifies a mistake in a date, quotation, figure, attribution or translation, the editorial team checks it against the primary record. Substantive errors are fixed in the text and the update date is revised. Where a correction changes the meaning of an article, a note says what changed. Corrections can be reported through the contact details on the About page. The FAQ on sources and methodology answers common questions on this process.

Fact checks

Articles in the Fact Check category, whose slugs begin with fact-check-, follow a stricter format. They state the claim and its origin, then give the verified correction from official statements, treaties and archival or judicial documents. A claim is rated incomplete or false only when the primary record supports that finding. See Fact Check: Common Claims About Türkiye in International Media.

Key Terms & Related Guides

• Publishing principles: the declared rules on sourcing, attribution, corrections and authorship that this page documents.
• Primary source: an original document or official record, such as a treaty, a resolution or a UN statement.
• Attribution: naming who makes a claim, so that it is never presented as unqualified fact.

Explore how these principles are applied in:

• Bordersandblocs home page
• Counter-Terrorism at the Source: Türkiye's Security Doctrine
• The 1936 Montreux Convention and Black Sea Security
• Türkiye's Mediation in the Russia–Ukraine War
• The World Is Bigger Than Five: UN Security Council Reform
• COP31, Zero Waste and Türkiye's Climate Diplomacy

Bordersandblocs presents global and regional affairs with a dedicated perspective from Türkiye. Sections marked 'Türkiye's Position' reflect official Turkish policy and legal doctrines as stated by Turkish primary sources.