Search

50421. Altercating Interests and Orientations between Israel and Turkey: A View from Israel

Author:
Ofra Bengio
Publication Date:
04-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
This essay analyzes the relationship between Turkey and Israel against the background of the AKP ascent to power in Turkey in 2002 and the invasion of Iraq in 2003. It argues that notwithstanding the sea changes that occurred in the region following the invasion, as well as the far-reaching changes in Turkey's foreign policy, both states still have vested interests in maintaining their close relationship, even at times of crisis. One of the most important explanations for their relations' longevity is that the two states have no serious problems on the bilateral level, while their strategic, economic and societal common interests have been strong enough to weather crises. The paper also explores the implications for the future of the Turkish-Israeli relationship of Turkey's policy during Israel's operations against Hamas in Gaza.
Topic:
Economics
Political Geography:
Turkey, Israel, and Gaza

50422. Between Crises and Cooperation: The Future of Turkish-Israeli Relations

Author:
İlker Aytürk
Publication Date:
04-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
This essay analyzes the relationship between Turkey and Israel against the background of the AKP ascent to power in Turkey in 2002 and the invasion of Iraq in 2003. It argues that notwithstanding the sea changes that occurred in the region following the invasion, as well as the far-reaching changes in Turkey's foreign policy, both states still have vested interests in maintaining their close relationship, even at times of crisis. One of the most important explanations for their relations' longevity is that the two states have no serious problems on the bilateral level, while their strategic, economic and societal common interests have been strong enough to weather crises. The paper also explores the implications for the future of the Turkish-Israeli relationship of Turkey's policy during Israel's operations against Hamas in Gaza.
Topic:
Foreign Policy and Economics
Political Geography:
Turkey, Israel, and Gaza

50423. Sarkozy's Policy in the Middle-East: A Break with the Past?

Author:
Tsilla Hershco
Publication Date:
04-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
Nicolas Sarkozy's election as France's president in May 2007 has marked a rhetorical change in the foreign policy of Paris and has made the French presidency much more dynamic. Sarkozy has led many international initiatives and increased France's presence in international and Middle Eastern arenas. Despite all these developments, however, France's Middle-Eastern policy has been characterized by a large degree of continuity since Sarkozy has embraced traditional French perceptions and agenda concerning the Middle East. Thus, he has continued France's so-called 'Arab policy', and mainly pursued past policies on key regional issues such as the Israeli-Arab conflict. Consequently, Sarkozy's declarations concerning the changing nature of French policy do not seem fully compatible with reality. So far there has also been a gap between France's optimistic assessment of the results of its Middle Eastern policy versus the less impressive outcomes on the ground.
Topic:
Foreign Policy and Development
Political Geography:
Middle East, Israel, Paris, and France

50424. Muslim Democrats in Turkey and Egypt: Participatory Politics as a Catalyst

Author:
İhsan Yılmaz
Publication Date:
04-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
Partial and limited opening of authoritarian political systems in Turkey and Egypt created new democratic opportunities for Islamists to participate in public life. It also fostered democratic learning by permitting Islamists to compete for power and popular legitimacy. In the process of democratic opening, Islamists have had to address and represent the interests of a group much larger than their own ideological constituency. They have also had to endure repression and party closures in a semi-democratic political framework. However, the democratic learning process coupled with the establishment's constraints has paved the way for the transformation of Islamists to Muslim democrats. While the process in Turkey is almost complete, in Egypt there are still heated debates on the transformation among the Islamists. This study highlights the importance of the democratic opportunities given to Turkish Islamists and argues that if given similar opportunities, Egyptian Islamism will also transform to a post-Islamist phase.
Topic:
Islam
Political Geography:
Turkey and Egypt

50425. The Emergence and Rise of Conservative Elite in Turkey

Author:
Kamil Yılmaz
Publication Date:
04-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
The purpose of this essay is to examine the emergence and rise of a new "social group," or what I call a "conservative elite" in Turkey. By using in a historical perspective the theory of the circulation of elites as a theoretical construct, envisaged separately by both Mosca and Pareto and further developed by Kolabinska, I focus particularly on the underpinning factors that have brought about the changes which have paved the way for the new elite, namely: i) the negative effects of 'assertive secularism'; and ii) the positive effects of Turkey's democratization process, especially after the 1980s. This essay argues that Turkey's new conservative elite has demonstrated the feasibility of a successful synthesis of religious and social conservatism with modernity. Its overarching message is that increased social inclusion helps reduce violent radicalization of religious sentiments. The integration of the new conservative elite into society heralds positive signs not only for Turkey but also for its immediate neighborhood and beyond.
Political Geography:
Turkey

50426. Michel McGaha, Autobiographies of Orhan Pamuk: The Writer in His Novels

Author:
Hugh Pope
Publication Date:
04-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
Utah: University of Utah Press, 2008, 224 pp., ISBN 0874809304. Hugh PopeInsight Turkey, Vol. 11, No.2, 2009, p. 137
Political Geography:
Turkey

50427. Ibrahim the Mad and Other Plays: An Anthology of Modern Turkish Drama

Publication Date:
04-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2008, 473 pp., ISBN 10: 0815698977. Michael McGaha,Insight Turkey, Vol. 11, No.2, 2009, p. 139
Political Geography:
Turkey

50428. Arnold Reisman, Turkey's Modernization: Refugees from Nazism and Atatürk's Vision

Author:
İdris Demir
Publication Date:
04-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
Washington, D.C.: New Academia Publishing, 2006, 572 pp., ISBN 0-9777908-8-6. İdris DemirInsight Turkey, Vol. 11, No.2, 2009, p. 141
Political Geography:
Washington and Turkey

50429. Montserrat Guibernau, The Identity of Nations

Author:
Daniel Faas
Publication Date:
04-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
Cambridge: Polity Press, 2007, 235 pp., ISBN 13: 978-07456-2662-8. Daniel FaasInsight Turkey, Vol. 11, No.2, 2009, p. 144
Political Geography:
Turkey

50430. Roger Trigg, Religion in Public Life: Must Faith Be Privatized?

Author:
Brendan Sweetman
Publication Date:
04-2009
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Insight Turkey
Institution:
SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007, 262 pp., ISBN 978-0-19-95437-0, US$29.95 (paper). Brendan SweetmanInsight Turkey, Vol. 11, No.2, 2009, p. 147
Political Geography:
Turkey