Turkey’s Syrian Conundrum
BY AZEEM IBRAHIM** | 18.08.2011 Turkey's secular democracy is increasingly establishing itself as a fulcrum for East-West relations, notably as a bridge to Iran and Syria. Its pending application to...
What to Expect from Turkey’s New Secular Leadership?
BY DR. H. AKIN UNVER** | 08.06.2011 Turkey’s opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has been undergoing an important and profound transformation since May 2010, which began with the resignation of...
Don’t You Wake up the Greeks, but What about the Turks? Some Thoughts on ‘INDIGNANCE’ at Syntagma Square
BY DR. BAŞAK ALPAN | 02.06.2011 ‘La Beaute est dans la Rue’ (‘the Beauty is in the Street’) Ernesto Laclau During the mid-May demonstrations in Spain where protesters of all...
Multiple Faces of the “New” Turkish Foreign Policy: Underlying Dynamics and a Critique
BY PROF. ZIYA ONIS The Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, the AKP) government’s foreign policy activism is not a new phenomenon. Yet, the changing nature of the...
Turkey’s General Election: Countdown to a Fait Accompli
BY AENGUS COLLINS | 20.04.2011 On June 12 Turkey’s electorate will go to the polls in the country’s 17th general election. In each of the last two elections, in 2002 and...
Turkey’s Opposition Turns Social Democratic: Will the Turks Follow?
By Dr. H. Akin Unver and Dr. Soner Cagaptay | 04.04.2011 While the Turkish Justice and Development Party's (AKP's) record on democracy and foreign policy is less than perfectly in accord with...
The Current Turkish Debates On The Borders Of Academic Freedom: Freedom As A Post-1980 Take-It-Easy Option?
By Dr. Başak Alpan 13 January 2011 "The white cracker who wrote the [American] national anthem knew what he was doing. He set the word 'free' to a note...
Two Sides of the Medallion Mehmed the Conqueror: Fighter of Islam or Lover of Western Art?
By Nilay Özlü | 20 December 2010 This paper aims to scrutinize the use and abuse of historical figures for ideological purposes, which happens to be a very common practice in...
Freedom of Expression and the Failure of Reform in Turkey
By Dr. Tim Jacoby | 18 December 2010 Turkey's incumbent Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP) government was elected at a pivotal moment. The catastrophic earthquake of 1999...
Turkish Reforms, A Wake-Up Call for Israel*
By Mehmet Celebi | 18 December 2010 On September 12, 22 million Turks voted a resounding "Yes" and thus endorsed a constitutional amendment package that could open wider the door...
Clash of Communities: Turkey’s Dormant Domestic Cold War
By Dr. H. Akin Unver | 10 December 2010 Turkey's September 12, 2010 Constitutional Amendment referendum was perhaps one of the most socially polarizing episodes in its modern history. A slightly...
Geopolitical Journey, Part 5: Turkey
By George Friedman | 23 November 2010 Editor's note: This is the fifth installment in a series of special reports that Dr. Friedman will write over the next few weeks...
Consensual Or Controversial? Presidential System And The New Constitution In Turkey
By Dr. Basak Alpan | 12 October 2010 Although Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan made it clear that the new constitution will only be drafted after the parliamentary elections of June 2011,...
Turkey’s Increasing Role In Afghanistan*
By Muharrem EKSI | 11 October 2010 Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu’s four-day visit to Afghanistan and Pakistan reawoke debates dealing with Turkey’s increasing role in Afghanistan once again. Intensifying mutual visits...
Turkish Ambassador to the UK Lecture: “Turkey’s Security Perspective in its Region and the Relations with the E.U”*
By HE Mr. Yiğit Alpogan | 26 September 2010 Although the topic mentions about the security aspects of Turkey and Turkey's relations with the outside world, the main emphasis is going...