Publishing Institution: / Political Geography: Turkey / Topic: Development

1. Lessons Learned from the Development of Turkish IR: A View from Greece

Author:: Kyriakos Mikelis
Publication Date:: 01-2023
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: All Azimuth: A Journal of Foreign Policy and Peace
Institution:: Center for Foreign Policy and Peace Research
Abstract:: The essay addresses an outsider's perception of the characteristics and dynamics of the IR field/discipline in Turkey. How may this country serve as a role model or, at the very least, as a source of inspiration, reflection, or evaluation of the field's development in other local/national settings? In this respect, Greece is chosen as a case study. Βy addressing and assessing Turkish self-reflection and the search for disciplinary identity within Turkish IR scholarship, what can be learned, on behalf of Greek IR scholarship, regarding both Greece's and Turkey's social scientific development regarding foreign affairs/policy? A major theme discovered is the acknowledgement of the limitations of the dependency/vulnerability-centered explanations for the development of IR.
Topic:: International Relations, Development, Academia, and Social Science
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, Middle East, and Greece

2. Devastating Earthquakes in Turkey Could Fundamentally Alter the Political Landscape

Author:: James Ryan
Publication Date:: 02-2023
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Foreign Policy Research Institute
Abstract:: Twin earthquakes of 7.4 and 7.8 magnitude devastated southeastern Turkey and northern Syria on February 6. Over 22,000 people are known to have died, and tens of thousands more remain wounded and displaced. Lax construction standards in a rapidly urbanizing region contributed to the high death toll, raising questions about Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party’s aggressive approach to construction and development. Opposition figures have made pointed accusations that state aid has been doled out on a partisan basis, raising the stakes of scheduled general elections on May 14.
Topic:: Development, Natural Disasters, Elections, Domestic Politics, Earthquake, and Construction
Political Geography:: Turkey, Middle East, and Syria

3. Governance Practices in Turkey: A Comparative Perspective

Author:: Dimitris Tsarouhas
Publication Date:: 01-2023
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP)
Abstract:: Turkey’s latest National Development Plan seeks to attain economic and social development equal to that of the world’s most prosperous states. By structuring expectations and incentives for economic and political actors, institutions play a key role in achieving sustainable, long-term development. This paper provides a systematic longitudinal analysis of core governance indicators which shed light on Turkey’s evolution over time from a comparative perspective. The results point to a sharp decline in the institutional efficacy of the Turkish apparatus of state vis a vis core aspects of the country’s development agenda, especially with regard to the rule of law, public administration, regulatory capacity, and predictability. Turkey’s declining scores in recent years fly in the face of its political agenda and severely undermine welfare gains made in the early 21st century.
Topic:: Development, Economics, Governance, and Domestic Politics
Political Geography:: Turkey and Middle East

4. Istanbul Journal of Economics: Volume 72 Issue 1

Author:: Gökhan Karabulut
Publication Date:: 01-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Istanbul Journal of Economics
Institution:: Istanbul University Faculty of Economics
Abstract:: Istanbul Journal of Economics-İstanbul İktisat Dergisi is an open access, peer-reviewed, scholarly journal published two times a year in June and December. It has been an official publication of Istanbul University Faculty of Economics since 1939. The manuscripts submitted for publication in the journal must be scientific and original work in Turkish or English. Being one of the earliest peer-reviewed academic journals in Turkey in the area of economics, Istanbul Journal of Economics-İstanbul İktisat Dergisi aims to provide a forum for exploring issues in basicly economics and publish both disciplinary and multidisciplinary articles. Economics is the main scope of the journal. However, multidisciplinary and comparative approaches are encouraged as well and articles from various social science areas such as sociology of economics, history, social policy, international relations, financial studies are welcomed in this regard. The target group of the journal consists of academicians, researchers, professionals, students, related professional and academic bodies and institutions.
Topic:: Debt, Development, Economics, Budget, Finance, Investment, Trade, Unemployment, and COVID-19
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, and Asia

5. Türkiye’de Bölgelerarası Sosyo-Ekonomik Gelişmişlik Farklarının Azaltılmasına Yönelik Politikalar: Güneydoğu Anadolu Projesinin (GAP) İncelenmesi (Policies for Reducing Inter-Regional Disparities of Socio-Economic Development in Turkey: An Investigation of the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP))

Author:: M. Kemal Aydın and Alptegin Albayraktaroğlu
Publication Date:: 12-2022
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: AURUM Journal of Social Sciences
Institution:: Altinbas University
Abstract:: Bir ülkedeki gelişmişlik düzeyinin ülke genelinde dengeli bir şekilde dağılması ve bölgeler arası farkın az olması önemlidir. Bunu gerçekleştirmek amacıyla hazırlanan bölgesel kalkınma planlarında, ülkeler bölgelere, bölgeler türlere ayrılmıştır. Bu bağlamda homojen, polarize ve plan bölge şeklinde üç farklı bölge türü vardır. Bölgesel kalkınma, bölgeler arası dengesizliklerin giderilmesi ve bölgede bulunan iktisadi ve toplumsal potansiyellerin faaliyete geçirilmesiyle refah düzeyinin yükseltilmesini ifade etmektedir. Türkiye’de özellikle 1950’li yıllardan itibaren bölgesel politikalar önem kazanmış ve ülkenin kalkınması için çok önemli bir politika olarak görülmüştür. Bu kapsamda ülkedeki bölgeler için birçok proje hayata geçirilmiştir. Güneydoğu Anadolu Bölgesi’nin sahip olduğu kaynaklardan faydalanılması fikriyle, bütünleşik ve çok sektörlü bir kalkınma projesi olarak Güneydoğu Anadolu Projesi (GAP), 6 Kasım 1989’da Resmî Gazete’de yayımlanan Kanun Hükmünde Kararname (KHK) ile başlatılmıştır. Bu proje 9 ili kapsamaktadır ve Cumhuriyet tarihinin en etkin şekilde uygulanan projesidir. Proje kapsamında master plan, bölge kalkınma planı, eylem planları ve kalkınma programları uygulanmaktadır. Günümüzde GAP bölgesindeki illerde başta tarım, enerji ve sanayi olmak üzere birçok sektör için iyileştirme süreçleri devam etmektedir. Bu çalışmada 2000’li yıllardan itibaren GAP kapsamındaki gelişmeler resmi veriler üzerinden incelenmiştir. Ardından seçilen sektörlerdeki gelişmeler ele alınmıştır.
Topic:: Development, Inequality, Economy, Domestic Policy, and Socioeconomics
Political Geography:: Turkey, Middle East, and Mediterranean

6. The 3+3 Regional Cooperation and Georgia: What Is at Stake?

Author:: Soso Dzamukashvili
Publication Date:: 01-2022
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Georgian Foundation for Strategic International Studies -GFSIS
Abstract:: During the past decades, many initiatives have been proposed for regional cooperation in the South Caucasus, mainly coming from Georgia and Turkey. In 1999, the then Georgian President, Eduard Shevardnadze, conceived the idea of the ‘Peaceful Caucasus Initiative’ with an objective to defend the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the states in the region. In the following year, a similar proposal was laid down by the then Turkish Prime Minister, Suleyman Demirel, who intended to create the ‘Stability Pact for the Caucasus’ initiative. Later in 2008, the then Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, floated plans to establish the ‘Caucasus Stability and Cooperation Platform’ that would bring the three states of the South Caucasus together with Turkey and Russia in order to tap the sustainable economic development of the region. In 2010, the then Georgian President, Mikheil Saakashvili, promoted the idea of the ‘United Caucasus’ platform (Kaleji 2021). Despite coming up with a plethora of ambitious cooperation initiatives, none of the leaders managed to push their initiatives to come into motion.
Topic:: Security, Development, Diplomacy, and Regional Cooperation
Political Geography:: Turkey, Georgia, and South Caucasus

7. Development Competition is Heating Up: China’s Global Development Initiative and the G7 Partnership for Infrastructure and Global Alliance on Food Security

Author:: Sarah Cliffe and Karina Gerlach
Publication Date:: 07-2022
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Center on International Cooperation
Abstract:: Economic development issues are becoming increasingly geopolitical, as the form and importance of today’s agreement in Turkey on grain exports between Russia and Ukraine demonstrates. While today’s crucial agreement and the war of food security narratives between Russia and the West rightly grab the latest headlines, outside of the media spotlight development competition is also heating up between China and the West.
Topic:: Development, Infrastructure, Food Security, Strategic Competition, and Russia-Ukraine War
Political Geography:: Russia, China, Turkey, and Ukraine

8. The Effect of Exchange Rate and Oil Price on BIST Industrial Index: Cointegration and Causality Analysis

Author:: Serpil Sumer
Publication Date:: 05-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Bilgi
Institution:: Sakarya University (SAU)
Abstract:: Industry is important for development and sustainability. Countries attach importance to industrialization in order to reduce their foreign dependency and gain competitiveness. It is expected that companies which competitiveness has increased with industrialization will have a positive effect on the national economy and financial markets. The raw materials used in the production process of the enterprises whose main activity is based on industry and the supply of these raw materials are among the issues that should be taken into consideration in industrial production. In this study, the relationship between oil price, exchange rate and Borsa Istanbul Industrial Production Index has been examined. In the study, Johansen co-integration and Granger causality tests were carried out using secondary data for the period January 2000 - September 2020. As a result of the Johansen co-integration test, it is concluded that there is a co-integration relationship between variables. As a result of Granger causality test; It was concluded that there is a bidirectional causality relationship between Borsa Istanbul industrial production index and exchange rate, and a racket effect causality relationship between Borsa Istanbul industrial production index and oil price. In addition, it is concluded that there is no causality relationship between exchange rate and oil price. The research of the relationship between the oil price and exchange rate of the industry, which has an important place in terms of economic growth and competition, is a feature that sets this study apart from other studies in the same field.
Topic:: Development, Oil, Industry, and Exchange Rates
Political Geography:: Turkey and Middle East

9. Pax Caucasia: Prospects of Peace and Cooperation in South Caucasus

Author:: Farid Shafiyev
Publication Date:: 06-2021
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Caucasus Strategic Perspectives
Institution:: Center of Analysis of International Relations (AIR Center)
Abstract:: The current issue of the Caucasus Strategic Perspectives (CSP) journal entitled “Pax Caucasia: Prospects of Peace and Cooperation in South Caucasus” is dedicated to the possible cooperation opportunities in the aftermath of latest 44-days war between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the fall of 2020 with focus on different views from various countries. The CSP’s new issue includes 5 articles, 2 commentaries and 1 book review. In the framework of post-war cooperation situation, the CSP’s current authors analysed the economic difficulties of Armenia, Azerbaijan’s enhancing role in the region and existing geopolitical confrontations, performance of peacekeeping activities, as well as economic cooperation opportunities emerged in the post-war period.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Development, War, Peacekeeping, Geopolitics, Economy, Strategic Competition, and Regional Politics
Political Geography:: Russia, Eurasia, Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, South Caucasus, United States of America, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Guam

10. Fluctuating Images of Enemies and Friends: Abkhazia, With Turkish Cyprus’ Lens

Publication Date:: 01-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Warsaw East European Review (WEER)
Institution:: Centre for East European Studies, University of Warsaw
Abstract:: Since1the 2008 Russian-Georgian war over breakaway regions, journalists talk about the undergoing colonization of Abkhazia by Russia through a number of processes: finan- cial and military aid, missiles installation in the region, infrastructure and telecommuni- cations control, Russian business and migration. Although, for various security reasons, welcomed by the Abkhaz elites while building their political entity against Georgians, one cannot but think of parallels with the Northern Cyprus developments over the last 30 years. In a similar process, Turkey sponsored the construction of the Turkish Cyprus de facto state. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, considerable resources were used to ‘prove’ the affinity with Turkey and Turks, to construct the enemy image of Greek Cypriots and, in so doing, to legitimate the separatist cause and friendship with the sponsor-State. However, anthropological studies in the North of the island show how living side by side with settlers from Turkey modified Turkish Cypriots’ self-identification as distinct from their new neighbours. Turkish Cypriots of all political convictions are uncomfortable and count critical stories about “people from Turkey.” They distinguish “us” Cypriots from “them” the settlers and simultaneously the image of former ‘enemy’, the Greek Cypriots, is vested with less hostile shapes. A civic identification develops as collective perceptions change. This, in turn, has implications for political cleavages as new options for (de)constructing the de facto state and new party programs emerge. How this identity transformation oc- curs? What triggers changing policies towards our enemies and friends? The article’s objective is to map and compare the ‘colonization’ process that took place in Northern Cyprus and the one observed in Abkhazia and to detect changes that occur in the image of ‘friends and enemies of the nation’ during this process and in the ethnic versus civic State-building endeavours. How external factors affect these transformations? Following Anthony Smith and George Schöpflin, enemies and friends are constantly redis- covered and re-interpreted, and their (re)construction account for “our” territory, justify col- lective claims and mobilize collective action. These fluctuations adapt to the needs of the moment, to an external threat, and to structural changes. When fluctuations in perceiving the ‘Other’ take place and how do they translate into the political construction of de facto states? Although the Abkhazian case is recent and in the making, establishing parallels with the Turkish Cyprus case may shed light on patterns of fluctuating nation-building processes, and by the same token, in (de facto) state-building.
Topic:: Development, Conflict, Rivalry, and Identity
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, and Cyprus

11. TESEV Interviews: Data Sharing for Sustainable Cities Part 5

Author:: Rob Kitchin
Publication Date:: 08-2020
Content Type:: Video
Institution:: Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:: With the support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNS), the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) has been running the program titled "Supporting Sustainable Cities" since 2016. This year’s project is designed to highlight the need for effective networks that connect key actors for maintaining a workable “data-ecosystem”. In order to bring expert opinion to the discussion, TESEV has conducted a video interview with Prof. Rob Kitchin of Maynooth University with the aim of producing a series of short clips providing key insights. Having served as the principal investigator in the project that gave rise to the Dublin Dashboard among many other data initiatives that he led, and as a widely published scholar in open data and data-ecosystems, Kitchin’s comments serve as a guide for potential models of partnership to build effective data-ecosystems. Key pieces of information from our interview are presented in this eight-part mini-series.
Topic:: Development, Governance, Urban, Cities, and Sustainability
Political Geography:: Turkey and Global Focus

12. The Interaction Between Foreign Direct Investment, Foreign Portfolio Investment and Economic Growth: The Case of Sub- Saharan African Countries

Author:: Zeynep Gülru Göker and Brooke Güven
Publication Date:: 04-2020
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Journal of Academic Inquiries
Institution:: Sakarya University (SAU)
Abstract:: There are contradicting arguments in the literature examining the influence of foreign investment on economic growth in Sub Saharan Africa. Some researchers claim that high level of volatility, rising current account deficit, lack of developed financial markets and low quality of regulatory framework would generate economic losses for developing countries in Sub Saharan Africa when they liberalized their capital flows. However, some studies focus on growth enhancing effect of foreign investment to be a remedy for low capacity of accumulated savings in Sub Saharan Africa. The current study brings new evidence about the role of foreign portfolio investment and foreign direct investment on economic growth for countries in Sub Saharan Africa. Due to the endogenenity issue, we have used panel VAR methodology to estimate three simultaneous equations system. By analyzing 25 Sub Saharan African countries over the 1990-2016 period, we found that foreign direct investment and foreign portfolio investment are complements and they have positive significant impacts on economic growth.
Topic:: Development, Foreign Direct Investment, and Economic Growth
Political Geography:: Africa, Turkey, and Sub-Saharan Africa

13. A debate with the Kurdistan Region’s President

Author:: Middle East Research Institute
Publication Date:: 12-2019
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Middle East Research Institute (MERI)
Abstract:: This timely session was dedicated to a debate with the President of Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) to discuss central geo-political and domestic developments, including the protests and the crisis of governance in Baghdad; the Turkish invasion of Northern Syria (particularly Rojava); and finally, the effects of internal political fissures within the KRI.
Topic:: Development, Governance, and Geopolitics
Political Geography:: Iraq, Europe, Turkey, Middle East, Asia, Baghdad, Syria, and Kurdistan

14. Social Policy in the Middle East and North Africa

Author:: Melani Cammett, Kristin Fabbe, Marc Lynch, Allison Spencer Hartnett, Ferdinand Eibl, Anna Getmansky, Tolga Sınmazdemir, Thomas Zeitzoff, Melp Arslanalp, Rania AbdelNaeem Mahmoud, Sean Yom, Wael Al-Khatib, Alexandra Blackman, Dina Bishara, Markus Loewe, Lars Westemeier, Asya El-Meehy, Marc C. Thompson, and Caroline Abadeer
Publication Date:: 10-2018
Content Type:: Research Paper
Institution:: Project on Middle East Political Science (POMEPS)
Abstract:: This spring, major protests swept through Jordan over economic grievances and subsidy reforms. In July, protestors took to the streets in the south of Iraq, demanding that the government address persistent unemployment, underdevelopment, and corruption. Meanwhile, earlier in 2018, Tunisians launched a wave of protests to oppose tax hikes on basic goods and increased cost of living. Such highly politicized responses to social policy concerns are the norm rather than the exception across the Middle East and North Africa. Social policy is where most citizens actually encounter the state and where policy most impacts peoples’ lives. As such, social policy and, more generally, welfare regimes, deserve a more central place in political science research on the region, as they have in the broader discipline. On April 20, 2018, POMEPS and the Harvard Middle East Initiative, led by Tarek Masoud, convened a workshop with a dozen scholars from around the world to discuss theoretical and policy issues related to social policy in the Middle East. The diverse, multidisciplinary group of scholars at the workshop addressed these questions from multiple perspectives. By probing the conditions under which reform occurs or may occur, the essays in POMEPS Studies 31, Social Policy in the Middle East and North Africa emphasize both possibilities for and persistent obstacles to change and underscore the deeply political nature of social policy reform.
Topic:: Development, Education, Energy Policy, Politics, Culture, Prisons/Penal Systems, Reform, Employment, Youth, Social Policy, Political Parties, Social Contract, and Housing
Political Geography:: Iran, Turkey, Middle East, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, North Africa, Egypt, Jordan, and Tunisia

15. Is it Possible to Ensure Development without Security and Security without Development? Transformation of Security-Development Relationship and its Conceptualization with Different Approaches

Author:: Arda Bilgen
Publication Date:: 10-2017
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Institution:: International Relations Council of Turkey (UİK-IRCT)
Abstract:: Despite radical changes and transformations at global scale in the past decades, security and development have retained their critical positions in global political agenda with their theoretical and practical dimensions. Over time, two areas have also undergone significant changes and transformations and converged to each other, especially after the emergence of human security and human development. The aim of this study is to broadly describe and discuss how “human” has become the common denominator of security and development and in what ways two areas have been conceptualized under security-development nexus. In this regard, common characteristics of security and development, paradigm shifts in both areas, their convergence process, different ways as to how security-development relationship has been conceptualized, and critiques towards such attempts will be discussed.
Topic:: Security, Development, and Human Security
Political Geography:: Turkey and Global Focus

16. The Significance of Erdoğan's Visit to East Africa

Author:: Michael Asiedu
Publication Date:: 02-2017
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Global Political Trends Center (GPoT)
Abstract:: On the 22nd of January, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan embarked on another tour of three East African countries, Tanzania, Mozambique and Madagascar. These visits bring his total trips to 10 in Sub Saharan Africa, the most by any Turkish president. Earlier in 2016, he visited Ghana, Guinea, Cote d’ivoire, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda and Somalia. These trips to a much larger extent signify the increasing policy attention Turkey is giving Africa.
Topic:: Development, Diplomacy, Bilateral Relations, Geopolitics, and Trade
Political Geography:: Africa, Turkey, Middle East, Mozambique, Tanzania, Madagascar, and East Africa

17. Sustainable Cities e-Participation for a Politics of Local Commons

Author:: Ulaş Bayraktar
Publication Date:: 12-2016
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:: The idea of sustainable development has been transformed into a concrete program under 17 headings within the United Nations Global Goals. According to the Sustainable Development Goals Index (SDG) prepared within this framework, Turkey ranks 48th among 149 countries with a score of 66.1. In the fulfillment of sustainable development goals, participatory city governments play a major role and new opportunities have emerged. Citizen participation can be achieved through a range of methods and scopes, such as information, consultation, inclusion, cooperation, and empowerment, and Internet technologies open up considerable opportunities for these, although preexisting structural and cultural problems that precede these mechanisms endure. This report argues that the participatory practices inspired by the idea of the commons could make a significant contribution to making these participatory practices more functional.
Topic:: Development, Governance, Sustainable Development Goals, and Urban
Political Geography:: Turkey, Middle East, and United Nations

18. Turkey as a Development Partner in Africa

Author:: Michael Asiedu
Publication Date:: 10-2016
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Global Political Trends Center (GPoT)
Abstract:: Irrespective of Turkey’s lack of colonial history in Africa, Turkey’s foreign policy has progressively evolved to include a key focus on Sub-Saharan Africa in terms of development and humanitarian assistance. As a new donor country in the development arena Turkey’s activities towards SubSaharan Africa has enjoyed significant boosts. This policy brief takes a snapshot of Turkey’s involvement on the continent in terms of political, economic and the development aid dispensations citing why the continent remains an attraction for many emerging donor countries. It gives options to further solidify Turkey’s relations whilst highlighting a key challenge that might hinder Turkey’s pace on the continent.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Development, and Partnerships
Political Geography:: Africa, Turkey, and Middle East

19. Time to Seal the Israel-Turkey Deal

Author:: Mensur Akgün, Muhammed Ammash, Nimrod Goren, Gabriel Mitchell, and Sylvia Tiryaki
Publication Date:: 01-2016
Content Type:: Commentary and Analysis
Institution:: Global Political Trends Center (GPoT)
Abstract:: Turkey and Israel face a unique opportunity: to reconcile after five years of stagnant bilateral relations. We, leaders of Israeli and Turkish think tanks that have been working together since 2012 to support the mending of Israel-Turkey relations, welcome this development and call on the leaders of both countries to seize this opportunity. In mid-December, officials from both countries met in Switzerland in order to finalize principles for an eventual agreement to normalize ties. Reports confirm that an outline and framework for the reconciliation agreement has indeed been reached, although some important issues – such as the blockade on the Gaza Strip – are still unresolved. Israel and Turkey came close to sealing a reconciliation deal on several occasions since the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident, most recently in the spring of 2014. However, while diplomats managed to find formulas that would overcome the differences between the countries, political leadership in Ankara and Jerusalem was hesitant to put the agreement into practice. This time around, there seems to be a convergence of economic and geostrategic interests, as well as political will on both sides.
Topic:: Development, Diplomacy, Treaties and Agreements, and Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:: Turkey, Middle East, Israel, and Palestine

20. TSG IntelBrief: Turkey and Syria: A Troubled History

Publication Date:: 03-2015
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Soufan Group
Abstract:: Turkey will play a significant role in Syria's future, more so than any other neighbor, though the history between the two nations has been a troubled one Although Turkey's President Erdogan was at first keen to have good relations with Syria's President Assad, and succeeded in doing so, since 2011, they have gone sour Turkey is determined to influence the outcome of Syria's civil war, even if it finds no support from its allies The reappointment of Hakan Fidan to head the Turkish Intelligence Service may usher in a more active phase of Turkish involvement in the conflict.
Topic:: Development and War
Political Geography:: Turkey and Syria

21. Baku Dialogues

Author:: Zaur Shiriyev
Publication Date:: 06-2015
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Baku Dialogues
Institution:: ADA University
Abstract:: “Baku Dialogues” is a series of events featuring leading world personalities who will address subjects of current international interest by presenting their views and participating in discussion of these subjects with interested Azerbaijani and international figures. These presentations and discussions, along with other submissions, will be recorded in the “Baku Dialogues”, ADA University’s new journal of record for academic and policy research.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Development, Diplomacy, Treaties and Agreements, International Security, Partnerships, Peace, and Berlin Wall
Political Geography:: United Kingdom, Europe, Turkey, Finland, Latvia, and Global Focus

22. Gezi Park Revolts: For or Against Democracy?

Author:: Atilla Yayla
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: The anti-government protests in Turkey emerged as a legitimate and even necessary reaction against police brutality to evolved into violent revolts targeting Prime Minister ErdoÄŸan. Since the initial protests, commentators sought to make sense of the phenomenon with reference to the Gezi youth. A closer examination, however, would reveal the Leftist-Kemalist aura of the protests that came under the tutelage of Taksim Solidarity, an umbrella organization of left-wing associations, and the Republican People's Party. Meanwhile, the general public kept its distance from the violent demonstrations. Not only AK Party supporters but also many liberals and secular-minded democrats found the developments alarming. While the protests marks a step forward for Turkey's once-apathetic opposition groups, their failure prevented a revival of authoritarianism.
Topic:: Development, Environment, and Government
Political Geography:: Turkey

23. Democratization and Relations with the EU in the AK Party Period: Is Turkey Really Making Progress?

Author:: Paul Kubicek
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: This brief commentary assesses the progress made by Turkey under the Justice and Development Party (the AK Party) toward European Union (EU) membership and democratization. While it acknowledges positive steps, it notes that the goals of EU accession and democratic consolidation remain elusive. One consideration is that the expectations or “goalposts” for both have moved so that, relative to the objectives of those supporting democratic freedoms and Europeanization, progress in Turkey has still been rather modest. While the democratization package of September 2013 offers some hope for democratization, it remains difficult to see substantial progress in terms of joining the EU.
Topic:: Development
Political Geography:: Europe and Turkey

24. Insights for Egypt's and Tunisia's Islamists from Turkish Experience of Democratic Transition

Author:: Ahmet Uysal
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Turkey is achieved a viable combination of Islam, democracy and development. After prolonged periods of political instability and interruptions in democratic rule, the Islamic-leaning AK Party government overcame the hurdles preventing it from reaching power in the early 2000s. It achieved a significant degree of democratization and economic growth without oil or foreign aid and repeatedly won elections ever since. As such, the party's success offers important lessons for Islamists in Tunisia, Egypt and Morocco. The lessons of the Turkish experience are especially relevant in dealing with the opposition and democratization, as well as achieving stability and growth.
Topic:: Development
Political Geography:: Turkey, Egypt, and Tunisia

25. The Turkish Economy During the Justice and Development Party Decade

Author:: Erdal Tanas Karagol
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: During the 1990s, political uncertainties in Turkey had negative effects that left the economy vulnerable to public and foreign debt due to high inflation, high budget deficit and high current account deficit. Coalition governments failed to address these problems. Following its rise to power in 2002, the AK Party developed a new perspective for the economy, politics and foreign policy collectively referred as the New Turkey. The government emphasized fiscal discipline, structural transformation and privatization. During this period, Turkey rapidly recovered from the negative effects of the 2001 financial crisis and reached a steady growth rate. The country also survived the 2008 global crisis with minimum damage. The government seeks to meet its targets for the centennial of the Republic's establishment.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Development, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:: Turkey

26. Civil-Military Relations During the AK Party Era: Major Developments and Challenges

Author:: Muge Aknur
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: The remarkable transformation of Turkish civil-military relations since the AK Party's rise to power has not led to total democratization in this area. Although EU reforms reduced the military's formal and informal powers and trials about contemporary and historic coup cases might indicate that the military has been subordinated to civilian authority, achieving democratic civil-military relations would require a balance of power between civilians and the military: While the military must relinquish its role as the country's guardians, civilians must work to regain the trust of military officers that they lost through the Ergenekon and Balyoz cases. Perhaps then Turkish civil-military relations can reach a democratic level, promoting democratic consolidation in the country.
Topic:: Development
Political Geography:: Turkey

27. Debating Security in Turkey: Challenges and Changes in the Twenty-First Century

Author:: Mustafa Kibaroglu
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Interest in Turkey and its foreign and security policies has grown significantly in the political and scholarly circles in the world, especially since the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi – AKP) came to power with the November 2002 elections. The AKP's electoral success continued in the subsequent elections in 2007 and 2011 with an increasing percentage of votes, which was unprecedented in the history of the Turkish Republic. One particular reason why Turkey attracted much attention in the world was because, in its first years in power, the AKP was easily categorized, both in the media and in academia, mainly in the West, as an “Islamic” party with a hidden agenda that aimed at drifting Turkey away from its mainstream foreign and security policies that have long been anchored in the Western alliance, thereby turning Turkey's face toward the Middle East and the Islamic world beyond it.
Topic:: Security, Foreign Policy, Development, and Islam
Political Geography:: Turkey, Middle East, and Gaza

28. Erbil Sends Oil, Ankara Gets Trouble

Author:: Olgu Okumus
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:: Since the international media reported crude oil flowing from the KRG to Turkey, doubts about the act's legality, political acceptability and opacity have surfaced. This oil trade is commercially enticing for energy-hungry Turkey, but is also politically risky. The Turkish government's lack of transparency regarding the KRG energy deal's economic and technical aspects has triggered domestic criticism - an especially risky proposition given the proximity of next year's election - and the KRG deal may also hinder international reliance on Turkey as a reliable energy hub. Turkey would be better advised to position itself as a partner for the export of Iraqi oil and gas, without making any distinction between federal and regional authorities. An Ankara-Erbil-Baghdad partnership based on normalized energy relations would help Turkey build new energy bridges with the EU, reducing gas prices for European consumers and strengthening Turkey-EU relations.
Topic:: Development, Energy Policy, Oil, and Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:: Iraq, Europe, Turkey, and Asia

29. International Relations and Migration Management: The Case of Turkey

Author:: Franck Düvell
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: States often fall out or collaborate over issues to do with international migration whilst migrants through their very actions shape the interdependence of states. Turkey and the EU also frequently argue over migration issues. Over the years, Turkey's economy grew significantly. It became an attraction and a safe haven to migrants and refugees. In April 2013, a new migration and asylum law came into force that responds to these new challenges. This was followed by the EU-Turkey visa liberalisation and readmission agreements. This contribution sketches some of the issues and notably the wider context to these latest developments.
Topic:: International Relations, Development, and Migration
Political Geography:: Turkey

30. Theorizing the Transformation of Turkish Foreign Policy

Author:: Kilic Bugra Kanat
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: The transformation of Turkish foreign policy has become a closely followed subject, fueling important debates on the underlying reasons, resources, actors, outcomes, and nature of the policy progress. This change has also introduced new challenges to those who have adopted generic models to understand and explain Turkish foreign policy. This article will examine and discuss the main causes that have complicated the study of Turkish foreign policy during this period, such as simultaneous changes in the nature and conceptualization of the international system –the end of the unipolar world, the emergence of new power centers - and domestic transformations in Turkey, including active civilian control of military, the emergence of an attentive public opinion in foreign policy.
Topic:: Foreign Policy and Development
Political Geography:: Iraq and Turkey

31. Turkey's Ergenekon Imbroglio and Academia's Apathy

Author:: Hakki Tas
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: The Gladio Scandal in Europe and, more recently, Turkey's Ergenekon trials highlight the importance of hidden power networks behind the façade of parliamentary democracy. Dubbed as “deep state” in the Turkish context, the phenomenon suffers from a scarcity of scholarly analyses. This paper demonstrates the lack of academic interest in this complex issue in Europe, and Turkey in particular. After reviewing the central currents in the academic literature on the Turkish deep state, it offers an analysis of the Ergenekon affair in continuity with Turkey's recent past.
Topic:: Development and Government
Political Geography:: Europe and Turkey

32. Breakout Nations: In Pursuit of the Next Economic Miracles

Author:: Selim Erbagci
Publication Date:: 02-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Breakout Nations: In Pursuit of the Next Economic Miracles In the last decade, the world has witnessed an unprecedented development of many countries. The speed of this process has not only caused surprise but also has generated questions: How did these countries manage such significant improvements? Why have some other countries failed to reach a similar level of success during the same period? How long could this rapid development last? Ruchir Sharma answers these issues, explaining the common reason for rapid development during the last decade and also the country-specific internal dynamics behind the rapid development of countries such as China, India, Brazil, Turkey, Russia, Mexico, and South Korea. Finally, He also identifies the potential breakout nations for the next decade.
Topic:: Development and Economics
Political Geography:: Russia, China, Turkey, India, Brazil, and Mexico

33. Turkey's Last Electoral Rite of Passage for a Post-Stress Democracy

Author:: Ertan Aydin
Publication Date:: 10-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Turkey's presidential election in August 2014 introduced the direct election of the president, ushering in a new era of Turkish democracy. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's election to the Turkish presidency signals the legitimization of the AK Party's emocratic reforms over the previous twelve years. Turkish citizens' widespread participation in the election indicates a non-partisan acceptance of Turkey's democratic system, and its departure from the bureaucratic and military influence under the Kemalist system. Even the opposition parties have recognized this shift, adapting their political agendas and election strategies to appeal to the center. These developments have implications for the political future of Turkey, the Middle East, and the international community.
Topic:: Development, Economics, and Environment
Political Geography:: Turkey and Middle East

34. Can the Kurdish Left Contribute to Turkey's Democratization?

Author:: Ödül Celep
Publication Date:: 10-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: The current peace process regarding Turkey's Kurdish question could pave the way for the normalization of politics and democratization in Turkey if the existing opportunities are not missed. The major actors that represent the Kurdish left in Turkey, the PKK and the HDP (formerly BDP), are all equally significant parts of the peace process. The HDP in particular has the potential to turn into a constructive actor for Turkey's democratization in the near future. This article argues that the Kurdish left of the democratic, parliamentary stage, lately the HDP, could contribute to Turkey's democratization if it can fulfill the libertarian left policy space in Turkish politics, which has long been abandoned by all existing political parties.
Topic:: Development, Islam, and Politics
Political Geography:: Turkey

35. Turkey and the Arab Spring Leadership in the Middle East, Graham E. Fuller

Author:: Andrew A. Szarejko
Publication Date:: 10-2014
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Some 15 to 20 years from today, it will be illuminating to examine how academic and policy circles read the period from early 2013 to late 2014 in Turkey. There are many competing narratives about the future of the country. One pessimistic reading that is currently popular with many American observers of Turkey goes as follows: the so-called "Turkish model" was all the rage just a couple years ago. Turkey was prospering and democratizing under the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), which was hailed for its successful fusion of Islamic values and democratic governance.
Topic:: Development and Governance
Political Geography:: America, Turkey, Middle East, and Arabia

36. Mauritania and Newly Emerging Economies in Africa Turkey and China

Author:: Fouad Farhaoui
Publication Date:: 01-2013
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: International Strategic Research Organization (USAK)
Abstract:: Pre and post-independence policies have yielded volatile problems for African States. North African states, in particular, have seen disintegration between their Arab, Berber, and Black ethnic groups.
Topic:: Security, Foreign Policy, Defense Policy, Development, Economics, and Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:: Africa, China, Turkey, and Arabia

37. Prospects for Resolution of the Kurdish Question: A Realist Perspective

Author:: Güneş Murat Tezcür
Publication Date:: 04-2013
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: The developments in early 2013 generated expectations that the almost three decades old armed conflict between the Turkish state and PKK would eventually come to an end. This article adopts a skeptical position and identifies two principal factors that make a peaceful settlement a distant possibility. First, the current military situation is a stalemate that is not ripe for peace. The costs of the conflict remain highly tolerable for both sides. Next, huge differences separate what the Turkish government is willing to deliver and what the Kurdish insurgency is willing to accept for disarmament. In particular, the PKK has no incentive to accept disarmament and demobilization given current geopolitical dynamics conducive to Kurdish self-rule. Identity, Narrative and Frames: Assessing Turkey's Kurdish Initiatives.
Topic:: Development
Political Geography:: Turkey

38. The Turkish-Kurdish Peace Progress

Author:: Michael M. Gunter
Publication Date:: 03-2013
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Institution:: Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Abstract:: During the summer and fall of 2009, the continuing and often violent Kurdish problem in Turkey seemed on the verge of a solution when the ruling Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi (Justice and Development Party) or AK Party (AKP) government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul announced a Kurdish Opening. Gul declared that "the biggest problem of Turkey is the Kurdish question" and that "there is an opportunity [to solve it] and it should not be missed."Erdogan asked: "If Turkey had not spent its energy, budget, peace and young people on [combating] terrorism, if Turkey had not spent the last twenty-five years in conflict, where would we be today?" Even the insurgent Partiya Karkaren Kurdistan (PKK) or Kurdistan Workers Party, still led by its imprisoned leader Abdullah Ocalan, briefly took Turkey's Kurdish Opening seriously. For a fleeting moment optimism ran rampant. That optimism, however, would ultimately go unfulfilled. What happened? The Kurdish Opening failed to live up to expectations because of roadblocks it encountered before it had a chance to get off the ground. Decades-old resistance to decentralization and an unwillingness to negotiate seriously with the PKK additionally worked to undermine the stated goals of the Kurdish Opening. This article will provide historical background to the recent efforts as well as a timeline of the government's initiatives and the Kurdish response regarding the Kurdish Opening. The question of why the Opening has failed to date will be examined. Recent developments including the civil war in Syria, which suggest that some possibility for progress on the Kurdish question remains, will also be discussed. Finally, the article puts forth recommendations to facilitate progress on finding a political settlement between the Turkish government and the PKK.
Topic:: Development and Government
Political Geography:: Turkey, Syria, and Kurdistan

39. KADININ GÜÇLENDİRİLMESİ VE EĞİTİM

Author:: Özge Zihnioğlu
Publication Date:: 01-2013
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Global Political Trends Center (GPoT)
Abstract:: The generally accepted idea that gender parity in education will automatically lead to women's empowerment is also inherent in Untied Nation's Millennium Development Goal 3. This working paper questions this necessary link between years of schooling and women's empowerment without considering other factors. For this purpose, this paper comparatively examines progress achieved in girls' years of schooling in different regions of the world and in Turkey. This paper then discusses cases where gender parity in education did not entail women's empowerment and argues that policy makers should pay attention to the content of education and socio‐cultural context for education to bring women's empowerment.
Topic:: Development, Education, Gender Issues, Human Rights, and Islam
Political Geography:: Turkey

40. The Management and Use of Natural Resources and their Potential for Economic and Social Development in the Mediterranean

Author:: Vanessa Ushie
Publication Date:: 10-2013
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:: In the framework of the IAI-OCP Policy Center project this paper offers a conceptual framework to examine natural resource management in Turkey, Morocco and Italy and its implications for social and economic development. It recognizes the multiplicity of actors involved in natural resource management at the local, national and global level. It then proceeds by 1) advancing a definition of natural resources to be used in the context of this project; 2) highlighting relevant emerging issues in the empirical debates on natural resource management within economics and politics; 3) developing a series of indicators aimed at assessing the dimensions of the management and use of natural resources. In general, this conceptual framework adopts a flexible and plural approach that reflects the multidisciplinary nature of natural resource management, and recognizes the importance of country-specific factors in the relationship between natural resource management and socio-economic development.
Topic:: Development, Economics, Natural Resources, and Sociology
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, North Africa, Italy, and Morocco

41. Sweden's Social Democracy Spirit and its Success Story About CHildren Rights

Author:: Menekşe Tokyay
Publication Date:: 03-2013
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Global Political Trends Center (GPoT)
Abstract:: This paper examines the role of grassroots activities in Sweden concerning children rights protection and how the country has become a role model for the whole world in terms of human development and children rights, with special reference to the best practices they have elaborated throughout their history in order to tackle each specific problem regarding children who are classified as full human beings having the same rights as adults. This paper emphasizes that the Swedish children’s rights’ protection model should become a reference point for all other countries, including Turkey, in improving policy paradigms and ways of doin& things when incorporating grassroots organizations’ energy and innovation into the problem solving mechanisms.
Topic:: Development, Politics, Children, and Democracy
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, and Sweden

42. Building Capacity for Public Understanding of Science: A Report on the Role of Science Centers

Author:: Burçkin Dal, Mesut Özcan, Duygu Öztür, and Umut Alper
Publication Date:: 03-2013
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: BILGESAM (Wise Men Center for Strategic Studies)
Abstract:: There is a growing need in the world for the proficiency in core competencies for public understanding of science. However, decision makers and public often lack access to information, knowledge and skills to engage in informed decision making regarding socio-scientific issues; besides, settings typically lack infrastructure to support such activities. This paper aims to explore and describe the critical factors and dynamics in science centers’ strategic initiative to develop capacity for the improvement of public understanding of science and its core competencies regarding national and international standard practices.
Topic:: Development, Science and Technology, and Research
Political Geography:: Turkey

43. Critical Energy Infrastructure Security Project Final Report

Publication Date:: 03-2012
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: International Strategic Research Organization (USAK)
Abstract:: Türkiye'de kritik enerji altyapi unsurlari (KEAU) güvenligini mercek altina yatirarak mevcut durumu tespit etmek, bu konuda farkindalik yaratmak ve sorunlar ile çözüm önerilerini kamuoyunun ve yetkili birimlerin dikkatine sunmak amaciyla bir çalisma yapilmistir. Nitekim, "Kritik Enerji Altyapi Güvenligi Projesi" adli bu çalismanin tüm boyutlarini ve detayli sonuçlarini içeren bir rapor hazirlanmistir.
Topic:: Development, Energy Policy, Islam, and Infrastructure
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, Middle East, and Asia

44. 2011— A Testing Year for Turkish Foreign Policy

Author:: Özdem Sanberk
Publication Date:: 04-2012
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: International Strategic Research Organization (USAK)
Abstract:: 2011 was undoubtedly a year that witnessed the beginning of grand transformations which will continue in the years ahead. The popular movements under the name of the Arab Spring started in Tunisia and spread quickly to the rest of the region, sparking the process of political transformation. In another part of the world, the economic crisis which began in Greece and then engulfed the whole eurozone took the European Union to a difficult test regarding its future. Both events, one lying to the south of Turkey and the other to its west, interact directly with our country and therefore its zone of interest. Ankara inevitably stands in the epicenter of these two transformations of which the effects will certainly continue for a long period. Consequently, rising as a stable focus of power with its growing economy and its expanding democracy, Turkey has tried to respond to historically important developments throughout the year. In light of these realities and developments, this study will focus on the performance of Turkish foreign policy with regard to global and regional transformations which took place during 2011.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Democratization, Development, Diplomacy, and Islam
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, Middle East, and Asia

45. Turkey's Kurdish Impasse: The View from Diyarbakır

Publication Date:: 11-2012
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: International Crisis Group
Abstract:: As Turkey's biggest Kurdish- majority city and province, Diyarbakır is critical to any examination of the country's Kurdish problem and of the insurgent PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party). The armed conflict has deteriorated in the past year and a half to its worst level in over a decade, with increased political friction and violence leading to the deaths of at least 870 people since June 2011. While as many Kurds live in western Turkey, particularly in Istanbul, as in the south east, grievances that underlie support within Kurdish communities for the PKK's armed struggle are more clearly on display in predominantly Kurdish areas like Diyarbakır: perceived and real discrimination in the local government and economy, alienation from central authorities, anger at mass arrests of political rep- resentatives and frustration at the bans on the use of Kurdish in education and public life. Yet Diyarbakır still offers hope for those who want to live together, if Ankara acts firmly to address these grievances and ensure equality and justice for all.
Topic:: Civil War, Communism, Development, Ethnic Conflict, Islam, and Armed Struggle
Political Geography:: Turkey

46. Turkish-Saudi Arabian Relations During the Arab Uprisings: Towards a Strategic Partnership?

Author:: Muhittin Ataman
Publication Date:: 11-2012
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: This article analyzes the development of Turkish-Saudi Arabian relations from the beginning of the struggle of the al-Saud family to gain power in the Arab peninsula to today. As a result of negative perceptions from both sides, bilateral relations were distant for decades. However, Turkish-Saudi relations began to improve remarkably under the AK Party and King Abdullah governments and a rapprochement started in 2005. Many agreements were signed during visits by political leaders from both sides. After the Arab uprisings began at the end of 2010, both countries took their cooperation further. As the two countries least influenced by the uprisings, Turkey and the Saudi Kingdom have been supporting the newly emerging political elites (Islamic groups) in Egypt, Libya and Syria; they have been maintaining close relations with the Western countries; and they have been trying to preserve regional stability and balance against Iran and its allies. However, there are some differences in their regional policies, such as their perceptions on the pace and scope of changes.
Topic:: Development
Political Geography:: Iran, Turkey, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Egypt, and Sinai Peninsula

47. The EU's Security Policy Towards Africa: Causes, Rationales and Dynamics

Author:: Abdurrahim Sıradağ
Publication Date:: 11-2012
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: This article explores the causes and dynamics impacting the development of the EU's security policy on Africa. The changing global structure in Africa has influenced the EU's foreign and security policy in Africa. The new global actors, such as China, India, Brazil, and Turkey have recently consolidated their political and economic relations with both African states and organisations with an impact on the EU's approach to the continent. At the same time, the new challenges, like international terrorism and immigration, also left their mark on the EU's policy in Africa. This article argues that the EU members' economic interests have played a central role in developing the EU's security policy towards Africa. Meanwhile, the new global threats and challenges and the emergence of new actors in Africa have also had an impact on the formulation and implementation of the EU's security policy in Africa.
Topic:: Development, Economics, and Terrorism
Political Geography:: Africa, China, Europe, Turkey, India, and Brazil

48. Converging Europe: The Transformation of Social Policy in the Enlarged European Union and in Turkey

Author:: Jeffrey C. Dixon
Publication Date:: 11-2012
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Is Europe converging in terms of policy development? How has the global financial crisis affected this and policy development in Europe more generally? What policy differences exist between European Union (EU) member states and other European countries? These and other questions posed in this volume are largely motivated by an attempt to understand the implications of the EU's Lisbon Strategy, which the editor, Ipek Eren Vural, defines as “a medium term development plan to facilitate transformation of the European economy, and to coordinate the economic and social policies at the national level” (p. 2). On the basis of this strategy and the Open Method of Coordination (OMC), or “governance tool” to pursue the economic and social “pillars” of the strategy (p. 2), there is reason to expect some convergence in Europe. Focusing primarily on the abovementioned social pillar within what Vural labels as institutional, intergovernmentalist, and neo-Gramscian frameworks in her introduction, this volume explores a wide range of issues/policies, including (un-) employment, poverty, flexicurity, pensions, welfare states, and gender equality. Drawing on time-series data from Eurostat as well as other data sources, the contributors generally find that the Lisbon Strategy was not successful in achieving its social policy aims; it was also undermined by the global financial crisis. There has been some policy convergence in Europe, but this varies by the type of convergence, the time period examined, and the specific policy domain. This review will briefly summarize and analyze the parts of this book and conclude with some final thoughts about the volume as a whole.
Topic:: Development and Economics
Political Geography:: Europe and Turkey

49. Hoca: Türk Dış Politikasında Davutoğlu Etkisi (Teacher: The Davutoğlu Effect in Turkish Foreign Policy)

Author:: Halil Bay
Publication Date:: 11-2012
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: In recent years, not only have the changes in Turkish foreign policy been discussed but also the key factors and actors behind the change. This book deals with both the professional and academic life of the foreign minister of Turkey, Ahmet Davutoğlu, and provides information on him and on developments in Turkish foreign policy. The author, Gürkan Zengin, is a journalist with an interest in foreign relations. His book includes a number of important stories of Davutoğlu from when he was a university professor and advisor up to today as a diplomat and minister. It seems that the author reached his conclusions and got information for the book from colleagues of Davutoğlu, his writings, and from other media. At first sight, this book is very beneficial for those who are interested in Davutoğlu and Turkish foreign policy in general.
Topic:: Foreign Policy and Development
Political Geography:: Turkey

50. Arab Spring, Turkish "Summer"? The trajectory of a pro-Western "moderate Islam"

Author:: ees van der Pijl
Publication Date:: 12-2012
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Norwegian Centre for Conflict Resolution
Abstract:: The “moderate Islam” that has developed in Turkey could play a role in shaping the outcome of the Arab revolt that began in 2011. The modern Turkish state established by Atatürk after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire had to find ways to integrate Islam politically. Turkey was a late-industrialising country and the Islamic political current tended to have an anti-Western, antiliberal profile on this account. Two tendencies within Turkish political Islam are distinguished: one connecting religion to economic nationalism, the other primarily cultural and willing to accommodate to neoliberalism. The 1980 military coup geared the country to neoliberalism and cleared the way for this second tendency to rise to power through the Justice and Development Party (AKP) of R.T. Erdo Ë˜gan. For the West and the Gulf Arab states the export of this model to the Arab countries destabilised in the popular revolt would amount to a very favourable outcome. Gulf Arab capital was already involved in the opening up of state-controlled Arab economies, including Syria. Although the situation is still in flux, by following the Turkish model Muslim Brotherhood governments could potentially embrace political loyalty to the West and neoliberal capitalism.
Topic:: Political Violence, Civil Society, Democratization, Development, and Regime Change
Political Geography:: Turkey, Middle East, Arabia, and North Africa

51. The Big Caucasus: Between Fragmentation and Integration

Author:: Jeffrey Mankoff
Publication Date:: 03-2012
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Center for Strategic and International Studies
Abstract:: Situated astride one of the world's key strategic crossroads, the “Big Caucasus” is increasingly a region in flux. The August 2008 war among Georgia, Russia, and the separatist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia emphasized the fragility of the territorial status quo that took hold in the years immediately following the collapse of the USSR, but which has failed to establish legitimacy among either local populations or the international community. The 2008 war solidified the de facto separation between the Georgian state and its breakaway provinces and put Georgia's NATO accession on indefinite hold—but did not resolve the underlying problems of sovereignty and security that led to the conflict. Similar problems abound across the Big Caucasus. An increasingly authoritarian Azeri government has staked much of its legitimacy on regaining Nagorno-Karabakh. While talks between Baku and Yerevan have made little progress, an arms buildup in the region continues, raising fears of renewed conflict. Meanwhile, Russia's North Caucasus smolders. A nationalist insurgency that began in Chechnya in the early 1990s has spread to neighboring regions and taken on a harder jihadist edge, raising concerns about a possible al Qaeda presence and creating a direct threat to Western interests.
Topic:: Development, Political Economy, and Sovereignty
Political Geography:: Russia, United States, Iran, Turkey, and Moscow

52. The 2012 Armenian Parliamentary Elections: Implications for Armenian Foreign Policy

Author:: Marilisa Lorusso
Publication Date:: 05-2012
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:: Armenian parliamentary elections were held on 6 May 2012. Five parties and a coalition won seats in Parliament. Three of them are opposition parties, two in the previous legislature were allies of the presidency party, the Republican Party. The latter comfortably won the elections. With 45% votes through the proportional system and 29 seats through the majoritarian one, the Republican Party has the absolute majority of seats, 69 out of 131. So the two main issues in Armenian foreign policy - the protracted conflict with Azerbaijan over Nagorno-Karabakh and relations with Turkey - will be addressed in continuity with the policy expressed so far by President Serzh Sargsyan, unless the regional counterparts change their strategies. With the party he chairs being confirmed as the leading political force of the country, Sargsyan will run for his second term in the upcoming presidential elections.
Topic:: Democratization, Development, and Politics
Political Geography:: Turkey and Caucasus

53. Looking for Help: Will Rising Democracies Become International Democracy Supporters?

Author:: Thomas Carothers and Richard Youngs
Publication Date:: 06-2011
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Abstract:: The emergence of a multipolar world gives Western democracy advocates cause for both optimism and anxiety. China's success sparks fears of the spread of an autocratic development model. Yet democratic states such as Brazil, Indonesia, India, South Africa, and Turkey are also gaining ground. These countries serve as powerful examples of the universal appeal of democracy and possess unique experiences with democratization. The United States and Europe understandably hope that rising democracies will use their growing prominence to defend democratic values abroad, potentially revitalizing international democracy support.
Topic:: Democratization, Development, Human Rights, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:: United States, China, Indonesia, Turkey, India, South Africa, and Brazil

54. Turkey in Europe: Record, Challenges and the Future

Author:: Daivd Lovell
Publication Date:: 07-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: The relationship between Turkey (and its predecessor, the Ottoman Empire) and Europe has been long, often tense or openly hostile, and is in some senses fundamental to the identities and development of each; this relationship also adds a considerable burden of suspicion to Turkey's current aim of joining the European Union (EU). This essay examines these propositions by providing an account of the history of the relationship and of Europe's recent, conditional approach to Turkish accession to the EU. While accepting that much remains to be done at the institutional level to bring Turkey into alignment with EU norms, this paper argues that Turkish accession is a historic opportunity for Europe that it should not squander. Despite mixed signals, further development of Turkey's democracy along the path to Europe is the most likely course. The story is not “never-ending”, but the end will not come quickly.
Topic:: Development
Political Geography:: Europe and Turkey

55. Inside an Embassy: Perspectives from a U.S. Ambassador

Author:: James Jeffrey
Publication Date:: 09-2011
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Institution:: Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
Abstract:: James Jeffrey talks about his experiences as U.S. Ambassador to Iraq and Turkey, as well as the U.S. missions in these countries, Turkey, and the European Union, progress and development in Iraq, and relations among countries in the region.
Topic:: Development
Political Geography:: United States, Iraq, Europe, and Turkey

56. Turkey and Democratization in the Arab World: Between an Inspiration and a Model

Author:: Karol Kujawa
Publication Date:: 08-2011
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Polish Institute of International Affairs
Abstract:: For several months, we have witnessed rapid change in the countries of North Africa. Researchers and politicians have raised questions about the future of Arab countries once the revolution has run its course. Will the new authorities attempt to build a theocratic state or will they follow the example of Turkey and implement democratic reforms? The latter choice is becoming increasingly popular in the Arab world. This article will address the key questions that come up in connection with Turkey and Arab countries, including: the source of Turkey's popularity in the Arab world, what do they have in common, what divides them and, finally, whether Turkey could become a model for Arab countries.
Topic:: Democratization, Development, Economics, and Islam
Political Geography:: Africa, Turkey, Asia, and Arabia

57. Armed Forces and Democracy

Author:: Ali L. Karaosmanoğlu
Publication Date:: 06-2011
Content Type:: Special Report
Institution:: BILGESAM (Wise Men Center for Strategic Studies)
Abstract:: After the Cold-War, there have been radical changes in the international system and the international structure has, to a certain extent, come to be relative. However, division of power in the international community and non-centralized legal order still dominate their roles of being the most characteristic features of international relations. Under such an atmosphere, “security” (however much its content has changed) is still the “value” that should be primarily protected by individuals, societies and states and the lack of which is the source of concern. Therefore, communities of today’s world also accept the critical function of the armed forces. Furthermore, it has been much clearer in the post Cold War era that the security of an individual and the society is as important as that of the state’s security. In this era, it has also come to the fore that this security of the individual and the society could not be protected without the maintenance of the rule of law, human rights, freedoms and democracy. Therefore, the security provided by the armed forces does not suffice. Then security provided by the armed forces should be backed by democratic values, human rights freedoms and the rule of law. However, the history has showed that the armed forces, in performing its mission of protection, has from time to time easily violated democratic values, human rights, freedoms and the principle of rule of law. In this sense, for the protection of the democratic values and thus for the maintenance of individual and social security, it seems compulsory for the military forces to adhere to the civil authority within the democratic regime and to be controlled by the civil authority alike. In other words, civil-military relations should be conducted on a democratic ground. The problem in civil-military relations is not particular to Turkey or to the countries whose democracy has not yet developed. It is a general problem that manifests itself in different versions in the liberal democracies of the West. The problem in civil-military relations has been much more apparent, especially in America and England with regards to the Iraq and Afghanistan interventions. It would be of use to mention how the theory of political science refers to the importance and the complexity of this problem. According to Peter D. Feaver,1 one of the pioneering names in this scope, the armed forces totally differs from the other state institutions, highlighting where the problem starts. The armed forces is different, as it can be understood from its name of being “armed.” Its big potential of power cannot be compared to any other institution or even to the civil democratic government. Hence, the civil government’s relations with the armed forces cannot be similar to its relations with any other public institutions, such as its relations with any directorate general. The final word in democratic regimes always belongs to the one who comes to power through elections. However, the armed forces has its own hierarchy, disciplinary rules, rules of promotion and assignment and the discretionary power in this scope. The problem is related to the boundaries of this autonomous field.
Topic:: Development, Armed Forces, Democracy, and Civil-Military Relations
Political Geography:: Turkey and Middle East

58. Decoding Demography

Author:: Jack A. Goldstone and Joseph Chamie
Publication Date:: 05-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Foreign Affairs
Institution:: Council on Foreign Relations
Abstract:: No abstract is available.
Topic:: Development, Migration, and United Nations
Political Geography:: Pakistan and Turkey

59. Turkish Domestic Politics in 2009: Towards Normalization

Author:: Emrullah Uslu
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: This article analyzes Turkey's domestic political developments in 2009, by situating them against the results and implications of the 2007 national elections. It examines major issues on Turkey's agenda: the redefinition of civilian-military relations, the Kurdish question, the issue of conservative social networks and the Ergenekon investigation. The article argues that while the governing Justice and Development Party previously pursued a survival strategy based on alliances with liberal reformists and the EU to curtail the power of the military, in the wake of the 2007 elections it opted to explore issues of common ground with the military. The developments in 2009, which was a year of harvesting the fruits of this new strategy, show that this strategy worked in regards to the Kurdish question, but it has failed on the issue of conservative social networks, as the military and the government remained embroiled in an undeclared confrontation on this issue.
Topic:: Development and Government
Political Geography:: Turkey

60. The CHP and the "Democratic Opening": Reactions to AK Party's Electoral Hegemony

Author:: Fuat Keyman
Publication Date:: 04-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government has initiated a number of democratic opening initiatives to tackle with the Kurdish question, the Alevi question, the Roma question, and the minorities question. This paper focuses on the reaction of the main opposition party, the Republican People's Party (CHP) to the initiative. It seeks to explain the CHP's reaction through the concept of “electoral hegemony”, which refers to a situation where one party becomes an uncontestable actor in the electoral process, which, while weakening the possibility of the opposition parties winning elections, also weakens the faith and trust of their supporters that these parties could govern Turkey through winning elections. It is argued that the CHP's reaction to the democratic opening initiative is in fact directly related to its need to respond effectively to the electoral hegemony of the AK Party, and that it has developed its response through the concept of sovereignty which has always been integral to its historical identity as the main carrier of the state-centric Turkish modernity.
Topic:: Development
Political Geography:: Turkey

61. The Militarization of Secular Opposition in Turkey

Author:: Menderes Çınar
Publication Date:: 04-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Turkey under the pro-Islamic Justice and Development Party (AKP) government has represented an opportunity to go beyond the Orientalist modernization framework and produce “value” by countering the culturalist arguments that foreclose the possibilities of democratization in modernizing Muslim countries. The secular opposition, however, has reproduced the logic of the February 28 process and has therefore immobilized and forced the AKP into a struggle to survive, both as a political party and as the elected government of the country. It is this power struggle that has come to epitomize the democratization debate and the democratization process in Turkey. In this context of an impoverished democratization debate, it remains to be seen whether and to what extent the AKP can accomplish the task of revitalizing the constitutive capacities of politics in Turkey.
Topic:: Development, Government, and Islam
Political Geography:: Turkey

62. Turkey's Radical Right and the Kurdish Issue: The MHP's Reaction to the "Democratic Opening"

Author:: Ödül Celep
Publication Date:: 04-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Turkey's current government's 'democratic opening' project has led to a series of political discussions regarding the cause and resolve of the Kurdish issue. One major consequence of this debate has been the polarization of opinion between conservatives, represented by the ruling Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP) and nationalists, represented by the Nationalist Action Party (Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi, MHP). This study elaborates on the major reasons for MHP's opposition to AKP on the 'democratic opening.' In doing so, the study examines the historical, ideological distinctions between the two parties and their perception of ethnic and linguistic differences in Turkish society. AKP comes from a political tradition that has been relatively more accommodating towards such differences. On the contrary, MHP has roots in an ethno-nationalist and mono-culturalist ideology, which can be observed in its denial of the identity component of the Kurdish issue.
Topic:: Development and Government
Political Geography:: Turkey

63. Mapping the Pathways: Public Perception and Kurdish Question

Author:: Cemalettin Haşimi
Publication Date:: 10-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: The Kurdish initiative announced by the governing Justice and Development Party has increased the discussions on the proper ways and forms of dealing with the Kurdish question in Turkey. The announcement acted as an opening of Pandora's box through which all different images of the problem began to be manifested simultaneously. Assuming that the public perception would have a direct impact on the trajectory of the implementation of the initiative, this essay examines different aspects of the public perception of the issue by relying on the findings of a joint survey conducted by SETA and Pollmark. It is contended that effective settlement of the Kurdish question requires encountering and resolving certain tensions in the public perceptions, which can be done by achieving a language in which the grammar of politics and the values that maintain social integration is more transitional and interdependent.
Topic:: Development
Political Geography:: Turkey and Kurdistan

64. Sadık Ünay, Neo-liberal Globalization and Institutional Reform: The Political Economy of Development Planning in Turkey

Author:: Ziya Öniş
Publication Date:: 10-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: New York: Nova Science Publishers, Inc., 2006, 221 pp., ISBN. 978-1600210709. Ziya ÖniÅŸ, p. 177Insight Turkey, Vol. 11, No.4, 2009, p. 177
Topic:: Development and Reform
Political Geography:: New York and Turkey

65. Constitutional Politics in the Middle East

Author:: Ramin Moschtaghi
Publication Date:: 04-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Abstract:: The book is a collection of essays contributing to comparative studies on the constitutional systems of Middle Eastern countries, with particular reference to Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and Turkey. While the first four essays – by Darling, Arjomand, Brown, and Mayer – provide a comparative and general analysis of their respective topics, the last four essays – by Shambayat, Bilgin, Rubin, and Arato – are country case studies. The authors are mostly scholars of political and social science; Linda Darling is a historian and Ann Elizabeth Mayer is the sole lawyer among the authors. The impressive list of authors includes internationally recognized experts. Although there are a number of publications on the constitutional law of most of the individual states examined here, the unique feature of this book is that it is one of the first, or even the first, which describes the constitutional development in a large variety of Islamic, Middle Eastern countries in a broad comparative perspective, highlighting peculiarities, similarities, and problems of the different legal systems.
Topic:: Development
Political Geography:: Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Middle East

66. Editor's Note

Publication Date:: 09-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: The Turkish political scene did not witness a profound change with the local elections of March 2009. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) continued its strong electoral performance and maintained its status as the most popular political force. One change following the election was the cabinet reshuffle in May in which Professor Ahmet Davutoğlu was appointed as Turkey's minister of foreign affairs. Such an appointment was hardly a surprise, since it is no secret that he had been the architect of Turkey's foreign policy under the AK Party government as the chief foreign policy advisor to the prime minister.
Topic:: Foreign Policy and Development
Political Geography:: Turkey and Middle East

67. Black Turks, White Turks: On the Three Requirements of Turkish Citizenship

Author:: Mücahit Bilici
Publication Date:: 09-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Turkish media frequently employ the term "White Turks" to describe the Turkish cultural elite. Although Turks are unfamiliar with American-style racial divides, the terms "black" and "white" are widely used to colorcode inequalities in Turkey. The common tendency to distinguish White Turks from Black Turks on the basis of wealth, however, fails to uncover the historical and cultural dynamics that gave rise to these two groups. This essay not only offers a necessary clarification of this popular heuristic device but also proposes a perspective for understanding the current standoff in Turkish politics between the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP, Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi) and the secular establishment, with their distinct value systems and competing claims to modernity.
Topic:: Development and Politics
Political Geography:: America and Turkey

68. Turkey and the Alliance of Civilizations: Norm Adoption as a Survival Strategy

Author:: Ramazan Kılınç
Publication Date:: 09-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: His article asks why Turkey recently adopted the emerging international norm of inter-civilizational dialogue as one of its foreign policy priorities. In addressing this question, we turn first to an assessment of the limitations of normative and realist arguments, then suggest that the Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) considerations of domestic political survival were necessary factors in the adoption of intercivilizational dialogue, even though in and of themselves, they were not sufficient. The AK Party government, circumscribed by the secularist establishment, strategically adopted the norm of inter-civilizational dialogue to create a legitimate space for its survival in Turkey's domestic political sphere. This conclusion stems from the theoretical finding that in those states in which political power is not concentrated in the government, the domestic political considerations of the government gain priority in foreign policymaking.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Development, and Government
Political Geography:: Turkey

69. Turkey's Justice and Development Party through Arab Eyes

Author:: Mounir Shafiq
Publication Date:: 01-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: In this article we seek to answer three interrelated questions: First, how do Islamic, national and democratic forces in the Arab world perceive the Justice and Development Party (AKP)? Is it an Islamic or a secular movement? Second, how do Arab political elites perceive the party's foreign policy, especially its relationship with Israel, America and the European Union? In this regard, we specifically explore how they perceive the AKP's political role in mediating indirectly the Syrian-Israeli dialogue, and its attempts to mediate between the US and Iran. Third, what are the prospects for the realization of the AKP's political project? Is it likely that the AKP will succeed in transforming Turkey into an "economic tiger," profiting from the existing strategy of positive relationships with America, Israel and Europe?
Topic:: Development
Political Geography:: United States, America, Europe, Iran, Turkey, Israel, and Arabia

70. Arab-Turkish Cooperation in the New Era

Author:: Mohammed Noureddine
Publication Date:: 01-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: After decades of ups and downs in relations between Turkey and the Arab world the Development and Justice Party that differed ideologically from other political parties brought a new vision for the future of relations with the Arab and Islamic world. Based on the geographical, historical and cultural depth of Turkey the new leadership pursued a "multidimensional" policy that allowed a new opening to the Arab world. The key for the success of this approach was the "impartiality" of Ankara vis-a-vis the conflicts between the Arab states in addition to Turkey's abstention from engaging in the "game of axes" in the region. This paper does not only explain the nature of the existing potentials to develop cooperation between Turkey and the Arab states, but it also offers a number of practical and specific suggestions.
Topic:: Development
Political Geography:: Turkey and Arabia

71. A New Agenda for the Kurdish Question

Author:: Taha Ozhan and Ozhan Ete
Publication Date:: 01-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: The Kurdish question in Turkey has a long history which was viewed within the framework of nation building, integration and underdevelopment until it was perceived as a security issue with the emergence of the PKK in the 1980s. During the 1990s, dominated by the security perspective, the scope of the question was reduced to terrorist acts alone under a state of emergency rule. A number of changes transformed the nature of question, such as the Kurdish political movement since the 1990s, forced migration, the capture of PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in 1999 and the emergence of autonomous Kurdish government in northern Iraq. A permanent settlement of the Kurdish question must be based on developing new and alternative strategies vis-a-vis existing policies. In this context, a comprehensive package of measures should include not only security measures, but more importantly democratic reforms and economic investments.
Topic:: Security, Development, and Government
Political Geography:: Iraq and Turkey

72. Turkey-EU Relations: Beyond the Current Stalemate

Author:: Ziya Öniş
Publication Date:: 09-2008
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: The prospects for Turkey's ambitions for full EU membership do not appear to be very bright in the current conjuncture. The “grand coalition for special partnership” appears to be firmly entrenched. With key chapters for negotiation already suspended what is likely to happen is that the government in power is likely to pursue a loose Europeanization agenda of gradual reforms falling considerably short of deep commitment for full-membership. The paper investigates the underlying reasons for the decline of enthusiasm for EU membership following the golden age of Europeanization and reforms during the early years of the AK Party government. The article also points to domestic and external developments which may help to reverse the current stalemate and, hence, ends with an optimistic note concerning the future of Turkey-EU relations.
Topic:: Development
Political Geography:: Turkey

73. Explaining Transformation of Turkish Civil Society in the EU Accession Process

Author:: Ahmet Arabaci
Publication Date:: 09-2008
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: This study investigates the relationship between the announcement of Turkey's EU candidacy status at the EU's Helsinki Summit in 1999, and the development and transformation of Turkish civil society organizations (CSOs). It is argued that theories of historical institutionalism and rational choice institutionalism provides a useful framework for explaining the changes that took place in the number and institutional structures of Turkish CSOs. Historical institutionalism helps explain how the EU's affirmation of Turkey's EU candidacy has served as a critical juncture for the evolution of path dependency for Turkish CSOs. The economic reforms and democratization driven by Turkey's accession process are given special attention in this respect. Rational choice institutionalism will be employed to explain structural transformations within Turkish CSOs, and their considerable dependence on the funds provided by the EU.
Topic:: Development
Political Geography:: Turkey

74. Turkey: Energy Status and Expectations

Author:: Yusuf Yazar and Hasan Hüseyin Erkaya
Publication Date:: 01-2008
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Turkey has a growing economy demanding about 7% more energy each year. It's electric power generation capacity (approx. 41,000 MW) must be doubled in the next 10 years to meet the demand. Natural gas has a significant share in electricity production, which should be reduced. Domestic and renewable energies should be employed in meeting the demand. Turkey took major steps toward liberalization of its energy market. Private enterprises are expected to invest in the energy market in a timely manner. Turkey has an “energy corridor” position between the gas and oil producing countries and the importing countries. Turkey's efforts to actualize the use of renewable and domestic sources should be supported.
Topic:: Development and Science and Technology
Political Geography:: Turkey and Middle East

75. Chechnya Weekly: Channel One "Uncovers" a Turkish-U.S. Plot in the Caucasus

Publication Date:: 04-2008
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: North Caucasus Weekly (formerly Chechnya Weekly), The Jamestown Foundation
Abstract:: Russian state television's Channel One on the evening of April 22 broadcast a putative documentary film made by Kremlin correspondent Anton Vernitsky called “Plan 'Kavkaz'” (The Caucasus Plan). The film purports to show how Turkey, the United States and Great Britain attempted at the start of the 1990s to divide Russia into small parts not controlled by the federal center. The film featured Berkan Merrikh Yashar, born Abubakar—a Turkish-born ethnic Chechen who claims to be a journalist who once worked for Radio Liberty in Munich and a politician with close connections to the Turkish leadership.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Security, and Development
Political Geography:: Russia, Europe, Turkey, Asia, and Chechnya

76. Privatization, Efficiency, Gender, Development, and Inequality—Transnational Conflicts Over Access to Water and Sanitation

Author:: Srini Sitaraman
Publication Date:: 01-2008
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Human Rights and Human Welfare - Review Essays
Institution:: Josef Korbel Graduate School of International Studies, University of Denver
Abstract:: The global supply of freshwater is finite and current estimates put freshwater availability at less than one-half of one percent of the total water stock. Intensive agriculture practices, rapid industrialization, and expanding population and urbanization are reducing freshwater supplies that are further stressed by climate change, placing enormous pressures on the already fragile environmental landscape. The World Wildlife Federation's (WWF) Dam Initiative report identifies twenty-one river basins around the world at severe risk of ecological degradation: topping the list is the Yangtze in China, La Plata in South America, Tigris and Euphrates in Turkey, and the Ganges and Brahmaputra in India (WWF 2004). Although dams have proved to be a boon for irrigation and generating hydroelectric power, they have also severely disrupted ecosystems by interrupting the flow of major rivers, destroying freshwater habitats and leading to the disappearance of unique species, such as the freshwater river dolphins; dams have uprooted the livelihood of millions of people who rely on the unaltered flow of river water, and they have also disrupted the structure of floodplain agriculture. India and China are two of the starkest examples of human dislocation, conflict, and environmental denudation caused by dams (Economy 2004). According to the World Bank, India's growing water crisis is resulting in “little civil wars”: (a) between states, (b) between different users in a river basin, (c) between communities and the state, (d) between farmers and the environment, and (e) between farmers and the city consumers (World Bank 2005). India's former Minister of Water Resources, Priyaranjan Das Munshi was quoted as saying, “I am not the Minister of Water Resources, but the Minister of Water Conflicts” (UNESCO 2006). The World Bank (2005: 5) report on India's Water Economy describes India's water situation, which is heavily dependent on unpredictable and seasonal monsoons, as turbulent and unsustainable in the long run.
Topic:: Development and Health
Political Geography:: China, Turkey, India, and South America

77. Why the Code of Conduct for Resolving Sovereign Debt Crises Falls Short

Author:: Barry Herman
Publication Date:: 03-2008
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The New School Graduate Program in International Affairs
Abstract:: The Institute of International Finance, a bankers group, has promoted its “Principles for Stable Capital Flows and Fair Debt Restructuring” as a code of conduct for debtor governments and their private creditors to avoid and if necessary resolve sovereign defaults. Although drafted with Brazil, Korea, Mexico and Turkey, I argue this purely voluntary code is excessively creditor friendly. Instead, a more balanced code should be developed in a broad, open and politically legitimate forum, and be coupled with an international disciplining mechanism that pushes creditors and debtor to a negotiated outcome under the code. A suggested approach concludes the paper.
Topic:: Development, Economics, International Trade and Finance, and Foreign Aid
Political Geography:: Turkey, Brazil, Korea, and Mexico

78. Making Sense of Turkish Politics

Author:: Sahin Alpay
Publication Date:: 09-2008
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: The International Spectator
Institution:: Istituto Affari Internazionali
Abstract:: Turkey, a candidate state that started negotiating membership in the EU in 2005, has witnessed serious political conflict since April 2007 when the military threatened to intervene once again in the political process. The Chief Prosecutor filed closure cases before the Constitutional Court first against the Democratic Society Party, the first pro-Kurdish party to enter parliament, and then against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) which won a landslide election victory in the parliamentary elections of July 2007. The Court decided by the slimmest of margins against the closure of AKP, allowing the country to escape narrowly one of its worst political crises. The attempted "judicial coup" can only be explained by the state ideology of and the nature of democracy in Turkey. The political conflicts are related not to a fight over dismantling or protecting secularism, but to the power struggle between old and new elites in the country.
Topic:: Development
Political Geography:: Turkey

79. The Strategic Benefits of Turkey's Admission Into East Asian Summit

Author:: Kim Beng Phar
Publication Date:: 11-2007
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: To fulfill Turkey's mission as a ʺcivilizational connectorʺ between Europe and Asia, Turkey must be a full member of the East Asian Summit. The path towards this goal, among others, requires Turkey to be a Dialogue Partner of ASEAN. Once ASEAN sponsors Turkey's membership in East Asian Summit, Turkey would then be strategically positioned to be a key member with some of the world's most monumental economic and political powers in its midst. Indeed, if Turkey is a member of East Asian Summit, ideally by 2010, Turkey would be in a better position to realize its strategic, civilizational, and historical depth.
Topic:: International Relations, Development, and International Organization
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, Middle East, Israel, and East Asia

80. Turkey's Economic Future and the AKP

Author:: Meral Varis Kiefer
Publication Date:: 05-2007
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: On April 30, 2007, the Turkish stock market slumped and the value of the lira dropped following a massive demonstration in Istanbul against the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, coupled with a statement by the military voicing support for secularism. Previously, the comparatively healthy Turkish economy had boosted the chances that the AKP, rooted in the country's Islamist movement, would achieve further electoral victories this year. On April 24, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan named Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul as his party's candidate for president -- a legislatively elected post. In the April 27 parliamentary session, however, the secular opposition boycotted the vote, and the AKP failed to muster the required two-thirds majority. The Turkish constitutional court subsequently annulled the vote, and the status of the presidential election is now uncertain. In the meantime, the parliament has moved legislative elections up from November to July 22.
Topic:: Development, Economics, and Government
Political Geography:: Turkey and Middle East

81. Political Islam in Turkey

Author:: Senem Aydin and Rusen Çakir
Publication Date:: 04-2007
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:: Turkey differs from the Arab states studied in the CEPS–FRIDE Political Islam project in not only in having a European Union membership prospect, but also in the fact that a broadly Islamist-oriented party has been in office since 2002. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) still enjoys the primary support of pro-Islamic constituencies in Turkish society and its orientation towards the EU has not changed since its assumption of power. An overwhelming majority in the party still sees the EU as the primary anchor of Turkish democracy and modernisation despite the inferred limitations of cooperation on issues relating to the reform of Turkish secularism. Yet the growing mistrust towards the EU as a result of perceived discrimination and EU double standards is beginning to cloud positive views within the party. Decreasing levels of support for EU membership in Turkish society and the fact that explicitly Euro-sceptic positions are now coming from both the left and the right of the political spectrum suggest that the sustainability of the pro-European discourse within the party could be difficult to maintain in the longer run.
Topic:: Development, Politics, and Religion
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, and Arabia

82. Economic Survey of Turkey, 2006

Publication Date:: 10-2006
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:: Substantial progress in macroeconomic stabilisation and institutional reform has laid a foundation for strong GDP growth. However, the recent inflation shock and turmoil in the financial markets highlight Turkey's on-going vulnerabilities. A further comprehensive programme of structural reform would increase productivity growth, expand the formal sector of the economy and consolidate macroeconomic stability.
Topic:: Development, Economics, and Markets
Political Geography:: Turkey and Middle East

83. Turkey Gets Ready to Elect President under New Chief of Staff: Implications for the United States

Author:: Soner Cagaptay
Publication Date:: 10-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: On September 1, 2006, Gen. Yasar Buyukanit became Turkey's new chief of staff. Compared with his predecessor, Gen. Hilmi Ozkok, who came into office about the same time as the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, General Buyukanit is a more vocal personality on many issues, including secularism. As Turkey prepares for the April 2007 election of a new president by parliament, General Buyukanit's term marks a new, crucial era in military-civilian relations in Turkey. What are the dynamics of this new era, and what implications does it have for U.S. policy?
Topic:: International Relations, Development, Government, and Politics
Political Geography:: United States and Turkey

84. Rebuilding Iraq: The Way Ahead

Author:: William McCoy and James Jeffrey
Publication Date:: 06-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: On May 18, 2006, Ambassador James Jeffrey and Maj. Gen. William McCoy addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum. Ambassador Jeffrey is senior advisor to the secretary of state and coordinator for Iraq policy at the U.S. Department of State. He previously served as deputy chief of mission and charge d'affairs in Baghdad, ambassador to Albania, and deputy chief of mission in Turkey and Kuwait. General McCoy is commander of the Gulf Region Division, Army Corp of Engineers, in Baghdad, where he oversees most of the U.S. government's major infrastructure projects in Iraq. Previously, he served as assistant commandant of the U.S. Army Engineer School, held command and staff positions in various combat engineer units, and served in Saudi Arabia. The following is a rapporteur's summary of their remarks.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Development, and Government
Political Geography:: Iraq, Turkey, Middle East, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia

85. An Interim Plan for South-East Europe: Customs Union with the EU and a Regional Schengen for the Free Movement of People

Author:: Michael Emerson
Publication Date:: 01-2006
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS)
Abstract:: The central recommendation of the Amato report of April 20051 set the year 2014 as the target accession date for the whole of the Western Balkans, which would take the EU from the 27 (in 2007 or 2008) to 32 member states minimally, 33 with Turkey, and 35 in the event of independence for Montenegro and Kosovo. This scenario is in contradiction with the present mood of the EU following the French and the Dutch referenda, which rejected the Constitution that was itself designed to pave the way institutionally for further enlargement. The EU has now officially entered a period of profound reflection on its future, a process which cannot be hurried.
Topic:: International Relations and Development
Political Geography:: Turkey, Eastern Europe, Kosovo, and Montenegro

86. On Being Religious: Patterns Of Religious Commitment In Muslim Societies

Author:: Riaz Hassan
Publication Date:: 06-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies
Abstract:: Using the analytical framework developed by the Berkley research programme in religion and society, this paper will report findings from a comparative study of Muslim piety of over 6000 respondents from Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, Iran, Egypt, Turkey, and Kazakhstan. The findings show similarities as well as significant differences in patterns of religious commitments among the respondents in the study. This is probably the first attempt to compare and 'map out' Muslim religiosity in Muslim countries. The first part of the paper will report the findings and the analysis by gender, life cycle, education and social position. The second part of the paper will discuss the findings using analytical insights from Emile Durkheim and Mary Douglas' sociology of religion. In this section, the paper will also compare selected aspects of Christian and Muslim piety and offer sociological explanations of the significant differences in 'experiential religiosity' between Christians and Muslims. The Christian piety data will be drawn from primary and secondary sources. The paper will conclude with a discussion of the sociological implications of these findings for social political and religious trajectories of Muslim countries.
Topic:: Civil Society, Development, Government, and Religion
Political Geography:: Pakistan, Iran, Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, and Egypt

87. A Presentation of Preliminary Findings and a Roundtable Discussion with Government and Civil Society Actors in Georgia

Author:: Denika Blacklock
Publication Date:: 08-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: European Centre for Minority Issues
Abstract:: The Meskhetian Turks are one of the last of the national groups of the Soviet Union deported by Stalin in 1943–44, who have not yet been able to return to their native region (in southwest Georgia). Currently numbering some 370–400,000 people, the Meskhetian Turks, following pogroms and multiple displacements, find themselves scattered across vast territories of Russia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey and, most recently, the United States. In some of these countries, the Meskhetian Turks are exposed to ethnic persecution and discrimination, while Georgia, so far, has effectively blocked resettlement to their native region. International actors seeking to address these problems encounter severe difficulties in finding solutions, inter alia, due to a lack of consistent knowledge on the Meskhetian Turks' own perceptions of their displacement and their visions for future settlement.
Topic:: Civil Society, Development, and Government
Political Geography:: Russia, United States, Turkey, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Soviet Union, Azerbaijan, and Georgia

88. Turkey's Reform Effort Reconsidered, 1987-2004

Author:: Kivanç Ulusoy
Publication Date:: 10-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: European Research Papers Archive
Abstract:: This article aims to develop a coherent explanation of the impact of the EU on Turkey's politics between 1987 (the year Turkey applied for EU membership) and 2004, providing a more profound analysis of Turkish political transformation within the framework of its relations with the EU. It integrates Moravcsiks' work on the human rights regime in post-war Europe with Risse's theory on communicative action in world politics to provide an alternative explanatory framework for recent political transformation in Turkey. It will be argued that the main dynamics driving recent democratisation in Turkey were its newfound location within the European human rights regime—a result of having been granted the right to individual petition to the European Court of Human Rights just before its 1987 membership application—and the increasing power of European argument as an alternative way of resolving domestic political conflicts in Turkey.
Topic:: Development, Human Rights, and Politics
Political Geography:: Europe and Turkey

89. Caucasian Diaspora in Turkey and Its Impact on Turkish Foreign Policy

Author:: Mitat Çelikpala
Publication Date:: 03-2005
Content Type:: Journal Article
Institution:: Uluslararasi Iliskiler
Abstract:: The concept of diaspora, which was incorporated into the literature on politics in the 1960s, has become a significant notion in current international politics. This study aims to present a theoretical assessment of the diaspora concept, followed by the organisation and the evolution of the Caucasian diaspora(s) in Turkey, which include Armenians, Azeris, Georgians and other North Caucasian peoples. It discusses their transformations from emigrants to diaspora, their views regarding each other as well as the changes that took place within these groups after the collapse of the Soviet Union which had a dramatic impact on their relations with their homelands. The second part of this study shifts the emphasis to the recent developments in Abkhazia and Chechnya, and to the activities and increasing influence of the diaspora over Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the political leaders in Turkey.
Topic:: Foreign Policy, Development, Migration, and Politics
Political Geography:: Turkey, Chechnya, Armenia, Georgia, and Abkhazia

90. What Iraq and Argentina Might Learn from Each Other

Author:: Anna Gelpern
Publication Date:: 06-2005
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: Peterson Institute for International Economics
Abstract:: Financial collapse usually triggers a flurry of market, academic, and policy innovation. The Latin American debt crisis of the 1980s produced the Brady Bonds and led to the rise of today's emerging markets. In the late 1990s, crises in Pakistan, Ecuador, and Ukraine helped teach the markets how to restructure international sovereign bonds. Crises in Mexico, Russia, Brazil, Turkey, and throughout East Asia raised doubts about the international system's ability to manage vast and rapid capital flows, and prompted a big-picture reassessment under the rubric “international financial architecture.” This included most famously the sovereign bankruptcy proposals discussed elsewhere in this volume.
Topic:: Development and Economics
Political Geography:: Pakistan, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Middle East, East Asia, Brazil, South America, Latin America, and Mexico

91. A New World Map in Textiles and Clothing

Publication Date:: 10-2004
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Abstract:: The textile and clothing industries provide employment for tens of million of people, primarily in developing countries, and accounted for USD 350 billion in merchandise exports in 2002, or 5.6% of the world total. The current rules governing world trade in textiles and clothing will change drastically at the end of 2004, when countries will no longer be able to protect their own industries by means of quantitative restrictions on imports of textile and clothing products. What will this mean for cotton growers in Burkina Faso and Turkey, fashion retailers in France and the United States, or shirt factories in Bangladesh, the Dominican Republic or China?
Topic:: Civil Society, Development, Economics, and Industrial Policy
Political Geography:: Bangladesh, United States, China, Turkey, and France

92. Azerbaijan: Turning Over a New Leaf?

Publication Date:: 05-2004
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: International Crisis Group
Abstract:: Oil-rich Azerbaijan, which borders Iran, Turkey and Russia and is still scarred from its defeat by Armenia ten years ago, gives cause for both hope and concern. The October 2003 election of Ilham Aliyev to the presidency that his late-father, Heydar, had held almost from independence, highlighted the stark choices which now face the country. Its government is a carefully designed autocratic system, which the father and former Soviet-era politburo member began to construct in the late 1960 s, with heavy reliance on family and clan members, oil revenues and patronage.
Topic:: Development, Government, and Politics
Political Geography:: Russia, Iran, Turkey, Eastern Europe, Armenia, and Azerbaijan

93. Ratings since the Asian Crisis

Author:: Helmut Reisen
Publication Date:: 01-2002
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: United Nations University
Abstract:: The increased importance of rating agencies for emerging-market finance has brought their work to the attention of a wider group of observers - and under criticism. This paper evaluates whether the importance of ratings for developing-country finance has changed since the Asian Crisis and whether rating agencies have modified the determinants for their rating decisions. It also provides an analysis on recent suggestions by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, as these are very important for gauging the future role of sovereign ratings for foreign debt finance in developing countries. While the explanatory power of conventional rating determinants has declined since the Asian crisis, recent rating performance for Argentina and Turkey can still be qualified as lagging the markets, as variables of financial-sector strength and the endogenous effects of capital flows on macroeconomic variables seem to remain underemphasized in rating assessments. The market impact of sovereign ratings is predicted to decline as agencies have started to modify their country ceiling policy and as market participants try to exploit bond trading opportunities arising from the lagged nature of ratings. The paper presents theory and evidence to suggest that the Basel II Accord will destabilise private capital flows to the developing countries, if the current proposal to link regulatory bank capital to sovereign ratings is maintained: Assigning fixed minimum capital to bank assets whose risk weights are in turn determined by market-lagging cyclically determined ratings will reinforce the tendency of the capital ratio to work in a pro-cyclical way.
Topic:: Development, Economics, and International Trade and Finance
Political Geography:: Turkey, Asia, and Argentina

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COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS