Publishing Institution: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research / Publication Year: within 25 Years

401. Reimagining Minorities in Turkey: Before and after the AKP

Author:: Kerem Karaosmanoğlu
Publication Date:: 04-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: This article analyzes the changing concept of “minority” in today's Turkey. Minorities have been historically conceived as a “problem” by the Republican regime and a threat to the “purity” of the nation. For a long time, the term “minority” was commonly associated with the non-Muslim communities of Lausanne. Still now, non-Muslim communities are seen as passive elements in nation-centric conspiracy theories. However, the age-old definition of minority in Turkey is being challenged by a transformation on a global scale. Within this process, not only are political regimes, bureaucratic structures and nationstates being re-shaped, but social and cultural perceptions, and values and norms are also transforming. Given this context, it is insightful to focus on the AKP to understand the changing face of Turkey and vice versa. In this new setting, to what extent can the AKP, so far a reluctant reformer, satisfy the demands of non-Muslim citizens and address the problem of democracy? Turkey, it seems, is on the brink of another wave of change and the non-Muslim minorities are located at its center.
Political Geography:: Turkey

402. "Democratic Opening", the Legal Status of Non-Muslim Religious Communities and the Venice Commission

Author:: Ergun Özbudun
Publication Date:: 04-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: This article deals with a recent opinion adopted by the Venice Commission at its meeting on March 12-13 concerning the legal status of non-Muslim religious communities in Turkey and the right of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Istanbul to use the title “ecumenical.” On the first issue the Commission points out the difficulties that arise from the lack of legal personality for such communities, especially in matters related to access to courts and property ownership. The Commission urges Turkish authorities to attend to this problem by choosing from the many models of legal personality for religious groups practiced in European countries. On the second point, the Commission observes that the title ecumenical is a spiritual and ecclesiastical matter, and not a legal one. It concludes that unless Turkish authorities actively interfere with the use of such title by the Patriarchate, the simple refusal of the use of this title by Turkish authorities does not amount to a breach of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Topic:: Human Rights
Political Geography:: Europe and Turkey

403. Prospects for Democratization in Iran: Policy Implications

Author:: Dariush Zahedi
Publication Date:: 04-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: The breakdown or modification of the Islamic Republic, though not imminent, is increasingly conceivable. However, in the event that the regime were to fall, Iran is bereft of many of the social and economic requisites for a stable democracy to emerge. About 80% of the Iranian economy is in the hands of the state, the private sector is dependent and feeble, and the 70% of the Iranians that are under the age of 30 are neither propertied nor middle class. This has implications for US policy, made all the more urgent by the timeline imposed by the looming nuclear issue. Rather than experiment with ineffectual and counter-productive attempts at democracy promotion, this study suggests that a policy of long-term international diplomatic and economic engagement is the best available tool for transforming Iranian society and politics in such a way that a transition to a sustained and stable democracy and, by implication, a resolution of Iran's nuclear issue, becomes more likely.
Topic:: Economics and Islam
Political Geography:: Iran

404. Guest Editor's Note

Author:: Talip Küçükcan
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Migration and settlement of Turks and Muslims in Europe since the 1960s irrevocably changed the social, cultural, religious and demographic landscape of European societies by transforming them into ethnically more heterogeneous and diverse political communities. It is estimated that Muslims currently constitute approximately 5.2 per cent of Europe's total inhabitants, which is home to 38 million Muslims. Of these, 13million live within the European Union, but they are spread out over the continent. There are about 4.5 million Muslims in France, Germany hosts almost 4 million Muslims, and the United Kingdom is home to 1.6 million Muslims. Italy, the Netherlands and Spain each have just over half a million Muslims, while smaller countries such as Austria, Sweden and Belgium have less than half a million. Turks constitute the largest Muslim immigrant community in Europe with an estimated number of 4.6million.
Topic:: Migration
Political Geography:: Europe, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Italy, Sweden, Netherlands, and Austria

405. Turkish Foreign Policy in 2009: A Year of Pro-activity

Author:: Ufuk Ulutaş
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Since the early 2000s, Turkish foreign policy has experienced a fundamental transformation. Turkey's regional and global position, its relations with the countries in surrounding regions, and its long-lasting disputes with its neighbors were reshaped through the adoption of the "zero-problem with-neighbors" policy. In line with this policy, Turkey has taken a pro-active stance and followed a multi-dimensional foreign policy approach to establish itself, first, as a conciliatory partner for peace with its neighbors, and second, as an agent of mediation between its clashing neighboring countries. 2009 was a year of foreign policy initiatives towards Syria, Armenia, and Iraq, including the Kurdish Regional Government. And it marked the beginning of more positive and constructive relations between Turkey and the United States. Turkey gained substantial ground in becoming a regional hub for energy by undersigning two critical energy deals. Yet, two major issues remain as challenges for Turkish foreign policy: a) the EU accession process, and b) the Cyprus dispute.
Topic:: Foreign Policy and Government
Political Geography:: United States, Iraq, Turkey, Armenia, and Syria

406. 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

407. A Forgotten Promise: Ending the Isolation of Turkish Cypriots

Author:: Mensur Akgün and Sylvia Tiryaki
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Despite repeated calls and promises, Turkish Cypriots live in economic, political and humanitarian isolation. This paper tries to address one aspect of it and elaborates on the legal basis of these isolationist practices imposed on one side of the island. It challenges the international legal validity of the de facto sanctions. Furthermore, it claims that lifting economic isolation will also serve as a confidence building tool between Greek and Turkish Cypriots as well as between Turkey and the Republic of Cyprus represented by the Greek Cypriots since such an act will lead to Turkey's reciprocation and the normalization of relations with the Republic of Cyprus. It also argues that neither the UN, nor the EU has ever imposed any sanctions on Turkish Cypriots and the policy of isolation, as such, has only been practiced by the Greek Cypriots and the Greeks. This paper intends to clarify the distinction between sanctions and non-recognition. It also highlights the promises made by the EU to the Turkish Cypriots, in particular, the one made on April 26, 2004, when the Council of the EU proclaimed its commitment to end the isolation of the Turkish Cypriot community.
Topic:: Economics and United Nations
Political Geography:: Turkey, Greece, and Balochistan

408. Turkey and the "New Europe": A Bridge Waiting to be Built

Author:: Adam Balcer and Piotr Zalewski
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: In recent years, the EU's newest members - having identified a number of shared interests that make collaboration between them desirable, if not inevitable - have begun to speak with a single voice on a range of key areas of EU policy. Some of their shared interests have yet to be articulated, however. One of them, and among the most important, is the new member states' support for future EU enlargement, including Turkey's EU accession. With Turkey in sore need of an advocate that can make a strong case on behalf of its EU bid, Ankara and the "new Europe" should reassess the importance of their relations, define areas of common interest and intensify cooperation. From the EU-10 perspective, increased cooperation with Turkey promises to deliver positive results in a number of policy areas, including immigration, energy security, trade and foreign affairs.
Political Geography:: Europe and Turkey

409. Individualization and Institutionalization of Islam in Europe in the Age of Securitization

Author:: Ayhan Kaya
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: This article discusses a new social and political phenomenon in Europe, which has become evident along with the visibility of Islam in the European public space. Revealing the current social-political context in Western Europe, which is mainly characterized by a growing drift of securitization of Islam and migration, this paper argues that there are two simultaneously running processes regarding the changing nature of Euro-Islam, which seem to are antithetical: individualization of Islam vs. institutionalization of Islam. Drawing upon the findings of the field research in Germany, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, this article shows that while the processes of globalization seem to prompt younger generations with Muslim background to liberate themselves from the constraints of their patriarchal parental and community culture, western states as well as ethnocultural and religious brokers tend to reify, or reinforce, their existing communal and religious boundaries. That is to say that the descendants of migrants seem to have been squeezed between individualization and institutionalization of Islam.
Topic:: Islam and Migration
Political Geography:: Europe, France, Germany, Belgium, and Netherlands

410. The Turkish Minority in German Politics: Trends, Diversification of Representation, and Policy Implications

Author:: Şener Aktürk
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: This article looks at the impact of Turkish voters in German politics since the 1980s with a special attention to the latest elections in September 2009. While Turks were almost entirely connected with the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in Germany in the 1960s and 1970s, the 1980s witnessed the rising appeal of the Greens among immigrants in general and Turks in particular. This was followed by the success of Turkish candidates in the Left Party in the 2005 elections. The latest elections in September 2009 witnessed a further diversification of Turkish representation as the SPD, Greens, Left, and the (liberal) FDP each sent a Turkish member into the Bundestag, while the CDU/CSU remained the only party without Turkish representation at the federal level. Despite persistent under-representation in the political arena, and some obstacles against their acquisition of citizenship and religious observance, the Turkish minority in Germany still registers a higher level of political presence than the Muslim minorities in France and Britain.
Topic:: Politics
Political Geography:: Britain, Turkey, France, and Germany

411. Force of Islam: Muslim Temporal Spacing in the German Diaspora

Author:: ilman Lanz
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: This text discusses the case of Talip, son of Turkish immigrants to Germany and a recent convert to Islam. Specifically, the text addresses Talip's reasons for a (re)conversion and the details of his embrace of Islam as the religion of his ancestors. The argument is made that processes of conversion cannot be captured through the conceptualization of different stages or phases except in retrospect. In showing this impossibility, the text further argues that every conversion needs to attach itself or revolve around a specific event that is taken as cathartic for making the move towards the new faith. Attempts that delineate commonalities in processes of conversion and that then speak of phases or stages are able to illuminate the social dimension of this phenomenon. The focus on events, proposed here, is able to much better highlight the idiosyncratic, contingent and personal dimensions of the same phenomenon.
Topic:: Islam
Political Geography:: Turkey and Germany

412. Identity and Integration among Turkish Sunni Muslims in Britain

Author:: Sevgi Çilingir
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: This article attempts to analyze various aspects of ethnic and religious identity configurations among the Turkish Sunni Muslims in Britain and to explore how such social processes influence their socio-political integration. It tries to situate the Turkish community in the context of British Muslim identity politics. Findings in this article are based on in-depth interviews on perceptions and attitudes the Turkish Sunni Muslims have and their implications in the planning of collective activities, especially in the field of education. This study reveals that although the current level of integration among the Turkish Sunni Muslims in Britain is less than expected, neither living in a non-Muslim country nor claiming to have a British identity are perceived as incompatible with Turkish and Islamic values. This paper concludes that educating Turkish youths in ethnic and religious values is a priority, as it is seen as a means to protect against assimilation, while allowing for successful integration.
Topic:: Education, Islam, and Politics
Political Geography:: Britain and Turkey

413. 'Ethnicity within Ethnicity' among the Turkish-Speaking Immigrants in London

Author:: Tayfun Atay
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: This article aims to explore multifaceted interactions among three segments of the 'Turkish-speaking' immigrant community in London, composed of the Turks and the Kurds from Turkey and Turkish Cypriots. Drawing on findings of an extensive anthropological fieldwork, this paper not only documents that these sub-groups co-exist and cooperate with each other creating a sense of collective belonging to Turkish-speaking communities versus the others but also shows frictions and conflicts often occurring about ethnic, political, and ideological issues. As a result, an uneasy symbiosis exists between these sub-groups in London where they find themselves in an awkward position of existing together while not belonging to a unified group which can be described by the notion of 'ethnicity within ethnicity'.
Political Geography:: Turkey, London, and Kurdistan

414. Role of Turkish Islamic Organizations in Belgium: The Strategies of Diyanet and Milli Görüş

Author:: Zeynep Yanaşmayan
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Immigration of Turkish guestworkers to Western European countries in the 1960s and 1970s laid the ground for the emergence of various transnational religious organizations. This paper examines transnational organizations of Turkish origin that gained major support and membership in their host societies. Drawing upon a case study on Turks in Belgium, it shows that in the last four decades these organisations went through various transformations depending on the dynamics in their respective immigrant communities, host societies and countries of origin. This essay captures the role and selfadaptation process of Turkish Islamic organisations vis-à-vis the changing environment both in their host countries and countries of origin. It focuses on two Turkish transnational organisations in Belgium: The Islamic Federation of Belgium (IFB) and the Turkish Islamic Foundation of Belgium (TIFB). This essay concludes that political structure in the countries of origin constantly induces transnational organizations to further adopt and position themselves according to changing circumstances.
Topic:: Environment and Islam
Political Geography:: Turkey, Belgium, and Western Europe

415. Turks in Denmark: Patterns of Incorporation and Collective Organizing Processes

Author:: Martin Bak Jørgensen
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: It has become a conventional approach to look at the impact of the political institutions to understand immigrant organizing patterns in the receiving countries. The underlying assumption in this process is that the organizational language of the host state makes an impact on the organizational patterns of immigrants in a given state. The article takes this insight as the backdrop for understanding the Turkish organizing processes in the Danish context and first looks at the institutional arrangements and integration- and citizenship model prevailing in Denmark and secondly, at the collective Turkish organizing processes within this structural framework while taking dynamics of social participation and agency into account. The Turkish minority group is the largest immigrant group in Denmark and the article pays attention to the heterogeneity that exists within the Turkish group and seeks to outline emerging organizing patterns with regard to ethno-national, religious, political and other dividing categories.
Topic:: Politics
Political Geography:: Turkey and Denmark

416. What is Driving the European Debate about Turkey?

Author:: Elizabeth Shakman Hurd
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: This article explores the cultural politics of European opposition to Turkish accession to the EU. It argues that the foundations of secularism-the powerful a prioris that structure the debate in Europe regarding religion and politics-make it difficult for Europeans to cope with what is often described as an "Islamic challenge" to Europe, both internally and externally. Turkish candidacy makes these stumbling blocks explicit, as Turkey has become the symbolic carrier of domestic European angst about religion, particularly Islam, and politics. Turkish candidacy highlights unfinished business in the social fabric of the core EU members, including what it means to be secular and how religion, including but not limited to Islam, relates to European identity. These sticking points are what the debate over Turkish membership is really about, and it is for this reason that it is culturally-in addition to economically and politically-so contentious.
Topic:: Economics, Islam, and Politics
Political Geography:: Europe and Turkey

417. AK Party's Foreign Policy: Is Turkey Turning Away from the West?

Author:: Kılıç Buğra Kanat
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: This article agrees that there is a transformation in Turkish foreign policy. It suggests that the changes in foreign policy are not aimed to de-Westernize Turkey; instead they are attempts to create an autonomous, self-regulating, and self-confident foreign policy agenda while normalizing the previous crisis-driven policymaking in Turkey's foreign relations. These changes include: broadening of Turkey's foreign policy agenda to include regions other than Europe and North America, using the expertise of new actors in shaping foreign policy (such as civil experts and NGOs) and transforming decision making mechanisms to incorporate new initiatives. In fact, this article, while not denying some recurring problems in Turkey's foreign policy, suggests that Turkey is not turning away from the West; but striving to reconfigure and reformulate its foreign policy, reflecting the demands of an increasingly open and democratic society and adapting to the realities of a multi-polar world.
Topic:: Foreign Policy
Political Geography:: Europe, Turkey, and North America

418. Sons of the Conquerors: The Rise of the Turkic World

Author:: Stefan Höjelid
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: “One spring day towards the end of the cold war, a time of surprises, my teleprinter shuddered into action. A colleague in Beijing was sending a message: members of an ethnic group called the Uygurs, of whom I had never heard, were demonstrating in the streets of Urumqi, capital of the north-western Chinese province of Xinjiang. The protesters were denouncing the communist leadership in Beijing and chanting the name of an exiled leader said to be living in Turkey, a man named 'Isa'. My colleague had a simple and urgent question: Could I trace Isa down?”
Topic:: Cold War
Political Geography:: China, Turkey, and Beijing

419. Kemalism in Turkish Politics: The Republican People's Party, Secularism and Nationalism

Author:: Metin Heper
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: The title of this book is a misnomer: the title should have been “The Republican People Party and Kemalism” for the book aims to unravel why this leftist political party in Turkey has consistently garnered a number of votes less than centre-right political parties have, and this failure is attributed to the party's close relationship with Kemalism rather than with the genuine left.
Political Geography:: Turkey

420. Orhan Pamuk, translated by Maureen Freely, The Museum of Innocence

Author:: Michael McGaha
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: One of the most distinctive things about Orhan Pamuk's writing is the playful way he tantalizes his readers by constantly blurring the boundaries between truth and fiction. By having his first-person narrators include many well-known aspects of the novelist's own life in their tales, he keeps us guessing about which parts of the story actually happened and which are imaginary. When he published his first few novels, only people who were personally acquainted with the author or his family could participate in this guessing game. As he has become increasingly famous—and especially since the publication of his memoir Istanbul: Memories and the City—many more of his loyal readers have been drawn in. Not only have his parents, his brother, his grandmother, and even the family servants become familiar figures, but fictional characters from his early novels, such as the wealthy merchant Cevdet Bey and the newspaper columnist Celal Salik turn up with such regularity in later works that they have come to seem equally real. With The Museum of Innocence Pamuk has taken this game to another level. The cover of the novel features a photo of four people parked beside the Bosphorus in a 1956 Chevrolet just like the one described in the novel as belonging to the protagonist's father; two of those people are easily recognizable as Pamuk's parents. A note on the dust jacket attributes the photo to “Ahmet Isikci.” Attentive readers will remember Ahmet as the character personifying the young Orhan Pamuk in his first novel, Cevdet Bey and His Sons.Even weirder is the fact that beginning next summer, if all goes according to plan, you will actually be able to visit the museum supposedly created by Kemal Basmacı, the protagonist of The Museum of Innocence, as a monument to his lost love, Füsun Keskin. That museum will contain many mementoes of Orhan Pamuk's own childhood and youth, such as his tricycle, as well as 4,213 cigarette butts allegedly smoked by Füsun, and many other, equally fascinating objects, such as the ceramic dog that once reposed on a doily on top of her parents' television set. I'm sure you'll agree that this is well worth the price of admission, but if you take your copy of The Museum of Innocence with you, you will get in free.
Political Geography:: Istanbul

421. Islamic Literature in Contemporary Turkey from Epic to Novel

Author:: Roberta Micallef
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: This work's title Islamic Literature in Contemporary Turkey From Epic to Novel might give some readers the impression that this book is about different genres of Islamic literature available in Turkey today. It is not. Readers familiar with Bakhtin's essay, “The Epic and the Novel: Towards a Methodology for the Study of the Novel” will be better prepared for what is in this book. Çayır investigates Islamism and the changing compositions of Islamic identities in Turkey through a study of the Islamic literary fictions of the 1980s and 1990s. He explores the political and sociological processes of identity construction in the context of Turkey in that period. Instead of opting for breadth, the author examines Islamic novels in depth by focusing on two 'salvation novels' of the 1980s, Müslüman Kadının Adı Var and Boşluk, and two 'selfreflexive novels' of the 1990s, Halkaların Ezgisi and Yağmurdan Sonra, which have canonical status in Muslim circles and because they are the prototypes for the narrative structure for each time period.
Topic:: Islam
Political Geography:: Turkey

422. Passive Revolution: Absorbing the Islamic Challenge to Capitalism

Author:: Masaki Kakizaki
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: While Islamic fundamentalism or “radical Islam” has attracted a great deal of public attention, some societies in the Muslim world have experienced the gradual evolution of radical Islam into “moderate” or “political” Islam. Although moderate Muslims in such societies still maintain a pious commitment to Islam in their daily lives, they are not necessarily against the idea of a market economy, democracy, or the West. Where does moderate Islam come from? Is it the outcome of structural changes such as the modernization and rationalization of Muslim society? Or is the emergence of moderate Islam largely contingent upon a complex interaction between politics, the economy, and everyday social life? Finally, how should we approach this newly emerging alternative to radical Islam?
Topic:: Islam

423. Labour Migration from Turkey to Western Europe, 1960-1974, A Multidisciplinary Analysis

Author:: İhsan Yılmaz
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Labour Migration from Turkey to Western Europe is a detailed multidisciplinary study of the labor migration from Turkey to the West during the official recruitment period between 1960 and 1974. The book endeavors to that make use of all available sources in four languages and draws on both historiography and social science research in the field. The 221-page book consists of six chapters. Following the introduction, it first looks at the causes of migration pressure in chapter two. Chapters three and four subsequently analyze the push and pull processes. Chapter three is titled “The Migration Process: Aspects Related to the Sending Country” and the chapter four is “The Migration Process: Aspects Related to the Receiving Country”. Before the conclusion, the book devotes 35 pages to analyzing the migrants and their characteristics in chapter five. It has also an extensive bibliography listing primary as well as secondary sources in four languages, which will be useful for other researchers in the field.
Topic:: Migration
Political Geography:: Turkey and Western Europe

424. The Politics of Anti-Westernism in Asia

Author:: Mehmet Özkan
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Based on extensive literature and fieldwork research in international relations, intellectual history and political thought, Cemil Aydin has written an exceptionally detailed account of the boundaries and horizons of pan-Islamic and pan-Asian thoughts on world order. Although his research on the intellectual journey of these two main anti-Western movements only covers the period from the early nineteenth century through to World War II, it still has relevance to today as we speak of “the rise of the rest” and/or “the Second World”.
Topic:: International Relations, Islam, and War
Political Geography:: Asia

425. The Ghazi Sultans and the Frontiers of Islam

Author:: Matthew S. Gordon
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: The title of this new volume is perhaps misleading suggesting as it does a discussion of imperial expansion and its impact on conqueror and conquered alike. It is, to be sure, a study of ghaza and its organization by pre-modern Muslim dynasts. Anooshahr prefers the term itself, ghaza, to “holy war” with its thorny, tangled associations (p. 14). His particular interest lies with Mahmud of Ghazna (Ghaznavid dynasty, d.1030), Murad II (Ottoman dynasty, d. 1451) and, especially, Babur Muhammad Zahir al-Din (Timurid dynasty, founder of the Mughal state, d. 1531) all of whom engaged in warfare of the sort.
Topic:: Islam and War

426. Exil unter Halbmond und Stern

Author:: Stefan Ihrig
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: German-Turkish relations in the twentieth century were at times very good and very close, at times cold, semi-colonial, and often difficult, but always complex and never black and white. Even when relations were friendly, as before and during World War One, the German side often tried to dominate the Ottoman Empire in some way which led to resentment among those who became aware of this—most prominently perhaps Atatürk. And at times when interactions between the two peoples seemed to focus prominently on such aspects as education and academia, as during the National Socialism period when a number of German academics found a temporary home in Turkey, some Germany were not happy about this new kind of closeness between the two peoples. A good history of German-Turkish relations still needs to be written, and there is much to disentangle and uncover until then, but this edited volume by Şen and Halm is another step towards a better understanding of this highly entangled history and inserts itself into the ever growing body of literature on the subject.
Topic:: War
Political Geography:: Turkey and Germany

427. Iran in World Politics: The Question of the Islamic Republic

Author:: Stefan Ihrig
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Adib-Moghaddam's engaging analysis of the Iranian politics is an effective antidote against the widespread characterizations of the Islamic Republic as the center of Shi'i crescent and a regime ruled by messianic fanatics who are soon-to-be armed with nuclear weapons. He explicitly states his purpose: “Ideally, this book equips you… with the necessary tools to widen and fill the gaps between lines next time you read a newspaper article about Iran” (p.2). “My idea in this book is to employ critical theory in order to place Iran out of the reach of their awesome propaganda” (p.3).
Topic:: Islam and Nuclear Weapons
Political Geography:: Iran

428. Making Islam Democratic: Social Movements and the Post-Islamist Turn

Author:: Ş. İlgü Özler
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: In this book, Asef Bayat explores Islam and democracy especially with regard to what he calls the “post-Islamist” movement in the Muslim world. Instead of asking whether Islam and democracy are compatible, he asks, “under what conditions can Muslims instigate democratization within their countries?” He challenges the Orientalist view on Islamic exceptionalism by not only contesting the validity of the question about the compatibility of democracy and Islam, but also through a very thorough investigation of the post-Islamist movement in Iran and the Islamist movement in Egypt. He defines post-Islamism as a “condition” and a “project” that emphasizes change through religiosity and rights that arises after Islamism runs its course as a legitimate source of hope for political and economic development (p. 10-11). Through his in depth case studies he demonstrates that the state has been successful in suppressing the post-Islamist social movements and their secular and reformist demands for political change in Iran. While the state has been equally successful at suppressing opposition (the political Islamist movement) in Egypt, the Egyptian state has not been able to quell society's turn to Islamism.
Topic:: Economics and Islam
Political Geography:: Iran and Egypt

429. The Ashgate Research Companion to the Politics of Democratization in Europe

Author:: Yaşar Yakış
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: This edited volume brings together 23 articles by various authors who examine different aspects of European democratisation under four headings: Concepts, Practices, Changes and Contexts. In the first section, “Concepts,” contributors tackle different definition of democracy, drawing on discussions in classical literature and examining contemporary challenges to democratization in the global age. In the opening article, “Representative Democracy: Rosanvallon on the French Experience,” Frank R. Ankersmit claims that representative democracy has advantages over direct democracy, as the laws governing the former provide foundational bases for a political order. In the following article, “Direct Democracy, Ancient and Modern,” Mogens H. Hansen looks at direct democracy more closely. The author points out that direct democracy existed only in Ancient Greece and that several centuries after the Hellenic era, scholars introduced the concept of representative democracy and institutions but no serious debate took place regarding the democratic character of these institutions. Hansen discusses the prospects of revitalizing the institution of direct democracy through the use of modern tools. In her article, entitled “Neither Ancient nor Modern: Rousseau's Theory of Democracy,” Gabriella Silvestrini discusses Rousseau's perception of democracy and concludes that it had very little relevance to majority rule. In “Representative Government or Republic? Sieyes on Good Government,” Christine Faure focuses on controversial thinker Abbe Sieyesm, and argues that, in his time, he suggested an elected king who would resemble the modern institution of the President of the Republic.
Topic:: Government
Political Geography:: Europe, Greece, and Tripoli

430. Hezbollah: A Short History

Author:: Joseph Alagha
Publication Date:: 03-2010
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: The purpose of Augustus Richard Norton's book— authored by the co-editor of the "Princeton Studies in Muslim Politics" series—"is to offer a more balanced and nuanced account of this complex organization [Hizbullah]... an honest account of the leading Shi'i political party in Lebanon— Hezbollah". In spite of that, there seems to be nothing fundamentally new in Norton's book.
Political Geography:: Lebanon

431. Editor's Note

Publication Date:: 04-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: No abstract is available.
Topic:: Foreign Policy and Cold War
Political Geography:: United States, Turkey, and Middle East

432. Turkey's Local Elections of 2009: Winners and Losers

Author:: ALİ ÇARKOĞLU
Publication Date:: 04-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: This article presents a descriptive account of the March 2009 local elections in Turkey and offers a nation-wide and regional evaluation of trends in Turkish elections since 2004. The results of these analyses suggest that, although the AKP's rise in support has stalled, it remains the dominant political party in Turkish politics. However, a regionally differentiated analysis shows that significant differences can be observed between the more developed western coastal regions, where the opposition parties received a lot of support, and the eastern and southeastern provinces, where parties that represent the ethnic Kurdish minority have seen rising support. In between these two areas, the AKP continues to dominate in the more conservative provinces, followed by the MHP. The article emphasizes the worsening economic conditions as the main factor that shaped these developments, and underlines the geographically advantageous positioning of the MHP which may mount a credible opposition to the AKP in the future.
Topic:: Politics
Political Geography:: Turkey

433. Towards a Turkish-Armenian Rapprochement?

Author:: Aybars Görgülü
Publication Date:: 04-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Given its close political, economic, social and cultural ties to the region, stability, prosperity and a cooperative atmosphere in the South Caucasus are of great significance to Turkey. From this perspective, the normalization of Turkey's relations with Armenia is one of the priorities of the AKP government. So a new era is about to begin in Turkish-Armenian relations, which up until now have been burdened by historical legacies, inertia and a lack of trust. The process of rapprochement launched with the restoration of the Akhtamar Church in 2002 is likely to soon result in the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries; however, the process is complicated, and it is still uncertain when the official ties will be definitively established. That is why a detailed look at the 18 years of deadlock between Turkey and Armenia would be helpful in order to better understand the changing dynamics of the problem.
Political Geography:: Turkey, Armenia, and South Caucasus

434. Turkish-Israeli Relations after Davos: A View from Turkey

Author:: Gökhan Bacik
Publication Date:: 04-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Despite the negative atmosphere it created for both sides, the Davos case should be seen as an opportunity to revisit the various aspects of Turkish-Israeli relations. Turkish-Israeli rapprochement is important for the regional order. However, both sides should realize that like all bilateral relations the Turkish-Israeli one is subject to social, political and psychological parameters. There is no ideal, correct model that is free of social effects. The fluctuations of a bilateral contact cannot be understood through simplistic analyses that prioritize personalities or other trivial issues. Every single event, including that at Davos, should be seen as one function of complex social phenomena. Even the most unexpected events in politics are the products of several major social machineries. This article will offer an alternative analysis of the Turkish-Israeli relationship in the light of a number of social structures.
Political Geography:: Turkey and Israel

435. 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

436. 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

437. 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

438. 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

439. 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

440. 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

441. 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

442. 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

443. 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

444. 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

445. Ulrich Beck and Edgar Grande, Cosmopolitan Europe

Author:: Bo Stråth
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, 311 pp., ISBN 9780745635637. Bo StråthInsight Turkey, Vol. 11, No.2, 2009, p. 149
Political Geography:: Europe and Turkey

446. Unintended Consequences: The United States at War

Author:: Bruce Kuklick
Publication Date:: 04-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: London: Reaktion Books Ltd., 2007, 223 pp., ISBN 9781861894090. Bruce KuklickInsight Turkey, Vol. 11, No.2, 2009, p. 151
Topic:: War
Political Geography:: United States and Turkey

447. Turkey's Local Elections of 2009: Results, Trends and the Future

Author:: ALİ ÇARKOĞLU
Publication Date:: 05-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: This article aims at presenting a descriptive account of the March 2009 local elections in Turkey. Comparing the general and local elections since 2004, an overall evaluation of trends in electoral preferences is presented. Using provincial general council election results, a detailed geographical comparative analysis of the 2004 and 2009 local elections is also carried out. The analyses show that the AKP's rise has stalled but it still remains as the dominant power in the party system. The electoral map continues to be divided between the coastal western and most developed provinces where the opposition is significantly supported, the east and southeastern provinces where the Kurdish ethnic electoral support is rising and the more conservative provinces in between where the AKP continues to be dominant with the MHP trailing behind. Even though the March 2009 elections had all the characteristics of a local election, they also revel the rising trends in electoral behaviour in Turkey.
Topic:: Democratization, Ethnic Conflict, and Politics
Political Geography:: Turkey and Asia

448. Davutoğlu Era in Turkish Foreign Policy

Author:: Bülent Aras
Publication Date:: 05-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Ahmet Davutoğlu was appointed Foreign Minister of Turkey on May 1, 2009. Chief advisor to the Prime Minister since 2002, Davutoğlu is known as the intellectual architect of Turkish foreign policy under the AK Party. He articulated a novel foreign policy vision and succeeded, to a considerable extent, in changing the rhetoric and practice of Turkish foreign policy. Turkey's new dynamic and multidimensional foreign policy line is visible on the ground, most notably to date in the country's numerous and significant efforts to address chronic problems in the neighboring regions. Davutoğlu's duty will now shift from the intellectual design of policies to greater actual involvement in foreign policy, as he undertakes his new responsibilities as Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Davutoğlu era in Turkish foreign policy will deepen Turkey's involvement in regional politics, international organizations, and world politics.
Topic:: International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Power Politics
Political Geography:: Turkey and Asia

449. Turkey and the Transformation of NATO

Author:: Tarik Oguzlu
Publication Date:: 07-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Recent years have made it clear that NATO is going through a transformation process; Turkey will be one of the allies most affected by this process. Both the future of NATO and Turkey's perception of NATO membership will be at stake unless the allies can reach consensus on the core strategic issues of the transformation agenda. Analysts urgently need to come up with convincing answers to the following questions: In which ways has NATO's transformation been going through? Why does Turkey feel uneasy with some aspects of the process? What steps should Turkey take in order to ensure that the transformation of the Alliance is viewed positively at home?
Topic:: NATO, International Cooperation, and International Organization
Political Geography:: Central Asia and Turkey

450. The Emergence of the 'Government's Perspective on the Kurdish Issue

Author:: Ümit Cizre
Publication Date:: 10-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: The AK Party's chronic 'political insecurity' may have passed a threshold as the ruling party resurfaces as an actor taking advantage of its pro-European Union sentiments to begin a 'grand negotiation' with Turkey's thus-far publicly shunned Kurdish leaders after decades of bloodshed. This new window of opportunity could not have emerged without the explosion of the Ergenekon incident, which has offered a persuasive critique of the closed, dark, intolerant and secret communities friendly with the military bureaucracy and state officials but insidiously devoted to destroying the government. In the post-Ergenekon era, the new democratic opening represents a significant departure from a military solution to the Kurdish issue which has blocked civilian imaginations by declaring the Kurdish identity demands as a security threat to the officially proscribed Turkish identity. The real issue at stake now for the AK Party government is a redefinition of the locus and space where the phenomenon of real political power takes place in Turkey.
Topic:: Government and Politics
Political Geography:: Turkey and Kurdistan

451. The Kurdish Question: The Reasons and Fortunes of the 'Opening'

Author:: Cengiz Çandar
Publication Date:: 10-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: This commentary reflects on the Turkish government's recent 'opening' to address the Kurdish problem and the domestic, regional and international conditions that created a conducive environment for this initiative. It maintains that although the Turkish leadership has grasped the new dynamics of the regional and domestic developments and changed its conventional perception of the problem, the initiative is constrained by the fact that it is motivated by a concern to remove the violent aspect of the Kurdish question, i.e., terminating the Kurdish insurgency once and for all. It also suggests that despite the optimism generated by the opening to solve the Kurdish problem, the achievement of its ultimate objective is far more complex than seen at the first glance. The commentary places a special attention on the dilemmas encountered by the Democratic Society Party as it seeks to represent the demands of its predominantly Kurdish constituency.
Topic:: Government and Insurgency
Political Geography:: Turkey

452. 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

453. A Research Note on Islam, Democracy, and Secularism

Author:: Ahmet T. Kuru
Publication Date:: 10-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: This essay examines the validity of the argument that the alleged theological lack of state-religion separation in Islam is the reason for authoritarianism in many Muslim-majority countries. The essay criticizes this argument by showing that a) secularism, in the sense of state-religion separation, is neither a necessary nor sufficient condition for democracy; b) Islam is not an inherently and exceptionally political religion, and c) 20 out of 46 Muslim-majority states are secular. The essay point out that rather than analyzing the so-called essence of Islam as prodemocratic or anti-democratic, it may be more effective to explore the socio-political and economic conditions that have led to democracy or authoritarianism in Muslim-majority countries.

454. Democracy in Muslim Contexts: What Africa Can Bring to the Discussion?

Author:: Leonardo A. Villalón
Publication Date:: 10-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: While the question of the relationship between Islam and democracy continues to attract significant attention from scholars and policymakers, African cases have been largely absent from these debates. This article argues that the experiences of sub-Saharan African Muslim societies may nevertheless have much to contribute to our understanding of democratic prospects in the Muslim world. Considering the experiences of three Francophone countries of Sahelian West Africa, it explores the ways in which the democratization experiments led by secular civil society activists in the early 1990s moved from the initial resistance of deeply religious Muslim majorities to an acceptance of democracy as the only legitimating bases of political systems. The article argues that this was possible due to the significant negotiation both within religious society and between religious groups and the secular elite on the actual content of democracy. These cases thus suggest a number of tentative but important lessons for our understanding of democratic possibilities in the Muslim world.
Political Geography:: Africa

455. Islam and Democracy in Indonesia

Author:: Michael Buehler
Publication Date:: 10-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Islam and democracy are said to be in a relationship fraught with problems as the former, allegedly, does not allow secular law to be put above divine law or accept the legitimacy of worldly authorities. This relationship is less problematic in Indonesia, a democratic Muslim-majority country, the argument goes, due to the syncretic forms of Islam practiced in the archipelago state that are less dogmatic, and hence more conducive to democratic principles. While this is a valuable point, various factors extraneous to 'moderate Indonesian Islam,' such as a fragmented Islamic authority in civil society, a weakly institutionalized party system as well as dynamics triggered by recent institutional reforms all play a role in the continuing insignificance of political Islam in the country.
Topic:: Islam
Political Geography:: Indonesia

456. Muslim Democratic Parties in Turkey, Egypt, and Morocco: An Economic Explanation

Author:: A. Kadir Yıldırım
Publication Date:: 10-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: The recent emergence of Muslim democratic parties such as AKP in Turkey and PJD in Morocco draws attention to the perennial question on the moderation of Islamist parties yet again. Economic liberalization and the accompanying socioeconomic transformation underlie the democratic and liberal turn political Islam has taken in the Middle East. The precise nature of liberalization is critical to this moderation. Competitive liberalization, by enabling peripheral groups to benefit from liberalization, conduces to the renewed interest in democracy and a liberal system. Crony liberalization, by reinforcing the archaic rent-seeking relationship between the state and big business and continuing to marginalize the peripheral groups from politics and the economy, sustains the interest of peripheral groups in the reactionary discourse of Islamism. The strength of Muslim democratic parties is a reflection of competitiveness economic reforms introduce in the society and the economy.
Topic:: Islam
Political Geography:: Turkey, Middle East, and Morocco

457. Globalization and the Crisis of Authoritarian Modernization in Turkey

Author:: Hasan Kösebalaban
Publication Date:: 10-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Conventional models developed through the conceptual lenses of modernization theory dating back to the 1960s, are no longer applicable to Turkish politics; they fall short of grasping the changes that Turkish ideologies experienced in recent decades. In the face of Turkey's growing democratization and societal modernization, Turkish secularists have lost their status as agents of reform and gradually emerged as defenders of the status quo in the face of the rapid mobilization of Anatolian-based conservative society. However, no factor was more responsible for this transformation than the comprehensive external and internal structural changes that Turkey experienced in the post-Cold War era, leading to the emergence of a globalist conservative ideology in large parts of Anatolia. This paper examines the question of why those who are commonly associated in Western scholarly discourse with progress and modernity, have fallen behind the Muslim conservatives in pursuit of democratization and further integration of the country with the West. The paper argues that at the root of the present conflict lies the tension between two modernization routes: a bureaucratic top-down modernization that has allowed the allocation of privileges to the secularist/nationalist elites, and the grassroots socio-economic mobilization of conservative societal elements benefiting from international integration and globalization.
Topic:: Cold War and Democratization
Political Geography:: Turkey

458. The Rise and Decline of the Turkish "Deep State": The Ergenekon Case

Author:: Serdar Kaya
Publication Date:: 10-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: This article tests Mancur Olson's theory of distributional coalitions against the case of the Turkish "deep state." Olson's theory holds that rent-seeking (or specialinterest) groups tend to be exclusive by nature and pursue only the interests of their own members. Since their members account to a very small minority, these groups present their interests as being the interests of larger communities. The article argues that the Turkish case confirms the fundamental assumptions of the theory of distributional coalitions. An analysis of the historical process of the newly-exposed Turkish deep state reveals that, when put in proper context, its clandestine activities manifest a pattern which involves systematic efforts of an exclusive circle of group members (1) to impact the workings of Turkish society, and more recently, (2) to reverse the country's democratization process in an effort to sustain the network's dominating influence.
Political Geography:: Turkey

459. Charting the Hamas Charter Changes

Author:: Mohamed Nimer
Publication Date:: 10-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Hamas Charter has sparked a lot of controversy, both inside and outside the organization. This paper offers a critical analysis of the original Charter that was issued in 1988. The document attempted to offer an ideology to counter Zionism, but it advocated views that are essentially anti-Jewish, xenophobic and outside the mainstream of the scholarly tradition of Islam. The paper also highlights the contradiction between the search for a just peace and the language of triumphalism and demonization in the Charter. Tracing the political development of Hamas since 1992, the paper presents evidence that current political leaders of Hamas are moving the organization beyond the ideological rhetoric of the early years of the movement. While they have abandoned the outdated Charter, they have not developed a credible perspective on negotiating peace.
Topic:: Development and Islam

460. Peacemaking between America and the Muslim World: A New Beginning?

Author:: Nathan C. Funk
Publication Date:: 10-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: The arrival of the Obama administration has created opportunities for positive and enduring change in U.S. relations with the Muslim world. Although early attempts to replace confrontation and ideological inflexibility with a more circumspect approach rooted in conciliatory gestures and "enlightened" political realism are encouraging, more substantial shifts in U.S.-Islamic relations will require commitment to a strategy of active peacemaking that moves beyond the standard repertoire of concepts and practices associated with the Cold War's dominant international relations paradigm. Such a strategy would seek to grasp the potential inherent in President Obama's stated commitment to founding relations upon "mutual interest and mutual respect," breaking the present impasse in U.S.-Islamic relations through principles and prescriptions derived from academic studies of peacemaking as well as from a critical re-evaluation of past U.S. policies.
Topic:: Cold War and Islam
Political Geography:: United States

461. Turkey in the UN Security Council: Its Elections and Performance

Author:: Berdal Aral
Publication Date:: 10-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Turkey successfully gained provisional membership of the United Nations Security Council by receiving support from 151 states in the UN General Assembly. Turkey is serving in the SC for the period between January 1, 2009 and December 31, 2010. This historic achievement was the end product of arduous efforts on the part of the ErdoÄŸan government which has braced itself for membership of the Security Council since 2003. Membership no doubt brings Turkey plenty of benefits, like enhancing Turkey's international political weight and prestige. However, it also poses challenges to the credibility of Turkey's multi-dimensional and assertive foreign policy with its strong tinge of fairness. Turkey ought now to take principled stances on many key issues relevant to international peace and security even at the cost of disappointing its long list of friends.
Topic:: Foreign Policy and United Nations
Political Geography:: Turkey

462. Vera Costantini and Markus Koller (eds.), Living in the Ottoman Ecumenical Community: Essays in Honour of Suraiya Faroqhi

Author:: Christine Philliou
Publication Date:: 10-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Leiden: EJ Brill, 2008, 504 pp., ISBN 978 90 04 16575 5. Christine PhilliouInsight Turkey, Vol. 11, No.4, 2009, p. 169

463. M. Şükrü Hanioğlu, A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire

Author:: Renée Worringer
Publication Date:: 10-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008, 241 pp., ISBN 13: 9780691134529. Renée Worringer, p. 171Insight Turkey, Vol. 11, No.4, 2009, p.171

464. Mustafa Aksakal, The Ottoman Road to War in 1914: The Ottoman Empire and the First World War

Author:: Virginia H. Aksan
Publication Date:: 10-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008, Cambridge Military Histories, xv+216 pp., ISBN 978-0-521-88060-2. Virginia H. Aksan, p. 173Insight Turkey, Vol. 11, No.4, 2009, p. 173
Topic:: War

465. Christoph Schuhmann (eds.), Liberal Thought in the Eastern Mediterranean: Late 19th Century until the 1960s

Author:: Jørgen S. Nielsen
Publication Date:: 10-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Leiden: Brill, 2008, 335 pp., ISBN 978 9004 16548 9. Jørgen S. Nielsen, p. 175Insight Turkey, Vol. 11, No.4, 2009, p. 175

466. 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

467. Austin Dacey, The Secular Conscience: Why Belief Belongs in Public Life

Author:: Jodok Troy
Publication Date:: 10-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: New York: Prometheus Books, 2008, 269 pp., ISBN 9781591026044. Jodok Troy, p. 179Insight Turkey, Vol. 11, No.4, 2009, p. 179
Political Geography:: New York

468. Peter Mandaville, Global Political Islam

Author:: Leif Stenberg
Publication Date:: 10-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: London and New York: Routledge, 2007, pp. 388, 978-0415326070. Leif Stenberg, p. 181Insight Turkey, Vol. 11, No.4, 2009, p. 181
Topic:: Islam
Political Geography:: New York and London

469. Yakub Halabi, US Foreign Policy in the Middle East: From Crises to Change

Author:: Janice J. Terry
Publication Date:: 10-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Farnham, UK: Ashgate Publishing Limited, 2009, 159 pp., ISBN 9780754675242. Janice J. Terry, p. 182Insight Turkey, Vol. 11, No.4, 2009, p. 182
Topic:: Foreign Policy
Political Geography:: United States, United Kingdom, and Middle East

470. Othon Anastasakis, Kalypso Nicolaidis and Kerem Öktem (eds.), In The Long Shadow of Europe: Greeks and Turks in the Era of Postnationalism

Author:: Yaprak Gürsoy
Publication Date:: 10-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Leiden: Brill Press, 2009, 388 pp., Hardback ISBN 978 90 04 17112 1. Yaprak Gürsoy, p. 185Insight Turkey, Vol. 11, No.4, 2009, p. 185
Political Geography:: Europe

471. Carol M. Swain (ed.), Debating Immigration

Author:: Deniz Sert
Publication Date:: 10-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007, 316 pp., ISBN 9780521875608 (hb), ISBN 9780521698665 (pb). Deniz Sert, p. 187Insight Turkey, Vol. 11, No.4, 2009, p. 187
Topic:: Immigration

472. 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

473. Can Islam and Modernity be Reconciled?

Author:: Shireen T. Hunter
Publication Date:: 09-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Is Islam particularly inimical to modernity, and the two are never to be reconciled? Many westerners and Muslims alike would argue that this is the case. Yet the more pertinent question; is religion in general and modernity incompatible and irreconcilable? There is a basic tension between all religions which rely on revelation as the primary source of knowledge and on God as the source of law and ethics, and modernity which privileges reason as the main source of knowledge and posits the source of law and ethics in human beings. An objective and unbiased reading of Islam shows that it is no more inimical to modernity than any other religion. Rather some of its aspects, including its emphasis on the importance of reason, its injunction that there is no compulsion in faith, and its frequent reference to people and their rights makes a reconciliation between Islam and modernity possible.
Topic:: Islam and Law

474. Iran's Presidential Election: The Failure of Managed Functionalism

Author:: Güneş Murat Tezcür
Publication Date:: 09-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Iran's elections have historically managed factional conflict without altering the institutional distribution of power. Against this political background, the June 2009 elections stand out as a unique event. Elections that once served to manage conflict have now become a destabilizing factor. While the regime appears to have forcefully silenced the widespread post-election protests, the 2009 uprising shows the new limits of elections in managing factional conflict, which spread out to include Iran's people. The regime grossly miscalculated not just the effects of massive public participation in the 2009 elections, but also the buildup of widespread grievances among a substantial section of Iran's citizens. The protests have aggravated the ruling elite's fear of a "velvet revolution" instigated by the West. Consequently, post-election negotiations between Iran and the Western powers regarding Iran's nuclear program are likely to meet significant obstacles, since recent events have further diminished confidence between Iran and its antagonists.
Political Geography:: Iran

475. 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

476. Armenian-Turkish Rapprochement: Timing Matters

Author:: Alexander Iskandaryan
Publication Date:: 09-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: The Road Map to normalization of bilateral Armenian-Turkish relations announced in April 2009 has not yet been made public, and a slowdown is evident in the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement. Turkey's strategy involves working to mitigate Azerbaijan's resentment against potential Armenian-Turkish normalization by tying its progress to the resolution of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh in a way that suits Azerbaijan. As a result, however, Armenian society is becoming increasingly apprehensive of the entire Armenian-Turkish dialogue. Tying rapprochement to the conflict makes sense from a zero-sum-game perspective but risks jeopardizing the entire process, as the formats and stakeholders are too different. Timing is the key factor now: political actors and societies are becoming frustrated and are no longer certain that the project of rapprochement has a future. Should no definite step towards normalization be made by autumn 2009, public frustration may overwhelm the project and mutual relations may end up worse than they were prior to the start of football diplomacy.
Topic:: Diplomacy
Political Geography:: Turkey

477. The Alliance of Civilizations: A Spanish View

Author:: Máximo Cajal
Publication Date:: 09-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: In the foreseeable future, the international system will become one of multipolarity. This new order can be sustainable and peaceful only if it can guarantee harmony and a common purpose among nations. To that end, it must be based upon a package of ethical principles under the aegis of a more powerful, democratic and efficient United Nations system. These principles - democracy, multilateralism, full compliance with international law and respect for human rights - are the same moral rules that underpin the Alliance of Civilizations project as initiated by Spain and Turkey. It was a consequence of the awareness that something new had to be done to prevent a potential confrontation between two worlds, two mindsets. There was, and still is, a danger of a further drift between Islamic and Western societies that might threaten international peace and stability.
Topic:: Human Rights and United Nations
Political Geography:: Turkey

478. 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

479. The Alliance of Civilizations: Possibilities of Conflict Resolution at the Civilizational Level

Author:: Talha Köse
Publication Date:: 09-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: This study examines the possible contributions of the critical perspectives and conceptual frameworks of the Conflict Resolution field to address "civilizational level" conflicts. The possibilities and limitations of dialogue processes at the civilizational level are critically examined. While recognizing the main assumptions and contributions of dialogue processes to deal with cultural/civilizational conflicts, this study puts forward an alternative and more practical vision: that of creating Spheres of Dialogic Interaction (SODI). In the second part of the study, the social and political backgrounds, practical contributions, and limitations of two recent projects the "Dialogue among Civilizations" (DaC) and the "Alliance of Civilizations" (AoC) are analyzed. It is argued that with its action-oriented agenda and the practical environment conducive to flexible, interactive and reflexive interaction, the ongoing AoC project is an important venue for creating SODI.
Topic:: Environment

480. The Alliance of Civilizations: The Poverty of the Clash/Alliance Dichotomy?

Author:: Ali Balcı
Publication Date:: 09-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: The Alliance of Civilizations (AoC) initiative emerged from debates around the "clash of civilizations." Based on this I will argue that the "alliance" notion is an integral part of the clash of civilizations thesis. Thereby, clash and alliance together form a mutually constituting "dichotomy," which I will call "the clash/alliance dichotomy." In the first part of the article, I will give a brief summary of the emergence and expansion of the "clash of civilizationns" myth. The second part seeks to underline important attempts to "de-mythize" the clash of civilizations thesis. Later, I will show how the "dialogue" notion emerged as a response to the clash based ideas and how it became a complementary part of "the clash/ alliance dichotomy". In the last part, I will focus on the problems of the AoC that stems from the fact that it emerged as a "reactionary entity."

481. The European Union and Political Cleavages in Turkey

Author:: Paul Kubicek
Publication Date:: 09-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: This article examines how the Turks' views of the European Union align with notions of a center-periphery cleavage in Turkish politics. Traditionally, pro-European views have been associated with the more prosperous, better-educated "center," whereas the rural, less educated and more religious Turks of the "periphery" have been less supportive of aspects of Europeanization. Examination of 2002 survey data finds that more religious voters were less supportive of the EU. However, analysis from a similar survey done in 2006 finds the religious factor to be insignificant whereas education, typically associated with the "center," is now related to negative feelings toward the EU. This turnabout is reflected as well in the positions of Turkey's two major parties and can be attributed to how each side of this cleavage views the benefits of closer ties to the EU.
Political Geography:: Europe and Turkey

482. The Davutoğlu Era in Turkish Foreign Policy

Author:: Bülent Aras
Publication Date:: 09-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Ahmet Davutoğlu was appointed Turkish foreign minister on May 1, 2009. Chief advisor to the Turkish prime minister since 2002, Davutoglu is known as the intellectual architect of Turkish foreign policy under the AK Party. He articulated a novel foreign policy vision and succeeded, to a considerable extent, in changing the rhetoric and practice of Turkish foreign policy. Turkey's new dynamic and multidimensional foreign policy line is visible on the ground, most notably to date in the country's numerous and significant efforts to address chronic problems in neighboring regions. Davutoğlu's duty will now shift from the intellectual design of policies to greater actual involvement in foreign policy as he undertakes his new responsibilities as minister of foreign affairs. The Davutoğlu era in Turkish foreign policy will deepen Turkey's involvement in regional politics, international organizations, and world politics.
Topic:: Foreign Policy and Politics
Political Geography:: Turkey

483. Turkey and the Middle East in the 'New Era'

Author:: William Hale
Publication Date:: 09-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Barack Obama's inauguration as America's new president has been welcomed as opening a 'new era' in Turkey's relations with the United States. May 2009 also saw the appointment of a new foreign minister in Ankara, in the person of Professor Ahmet Davutoğlu. This article examines how these new directions are playing out in the Middle East, one of the world's most turbulent regions which also has crucial economic and strategic importance for Turkey. It focuses on Turkey's relations with four regional states – Iraq, Israel/ Palestine, Syria and Iran. The article closes by assessing whether Turkey has been able to achieve the government's ambition of 'zero problems' with its neighbors, and the degree to which it has been able to develop a new role as conciliator and go-between in addressing the region's bitter conflicts.
Topic:: Government
Political Geography:: United States, America, Turkey, and Middle East

484. Turkey's Emerging Role as a Mediator on Iran's Nuclear Activities

Author:: Rahman G. Bonab
Publication Date:: 09-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: The international community is worried about the security implications of Iran's nuclear activities. Although it has been argued that Iran is very close to make a nuclear bomb, the results of the latest official reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and some American intelligence institutions demonstrate that Iran is not reluctant to consider the concerns of the international community in its decisions. One of the main policies of great powers is to cooperate with regional actors, like Turkey, to persuade Iran to be more flexible in its nuclear policy and particularly in its uranium enrichment activity. The historical mistrust between Iran and the great powers reinforces the necessity of having other regional actors act as mediators and countries like Turkey can play an important role in this context. The governing AKP's mediation policy in the regional level is a catalyst to Turkey's attempts to mediate between Iran and the 5+1 Group, although mediation can have its own difficulties.
Topic:: Security
Political Geography:: America, Iran, and Turkey

485. The Caucasus: Which Role for Turkey in the European Neighborhood?

Author:: Deniz Devrim and Evelina Schulz
Publication Date:: 09-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: The Turkish proposal of a Caucasus Stability and Cooperation Platform (CSCP), and its impact on existing EU initiatives covering the same region, represents a challenge for the future shape of the European neighborhood. This article analyzes the evolution of the CSCP since its launch in summer 2008 until now and presents the platform's approach and main ideas. A core question will be whether the Turkish proposal will be complementary to or in competition with other European initiatives such as the Eastern Partnership or the Black Sea Synergy. Different stakeholders' perceptions of the CSCP will also be outlined. Finally, an outlook will be given which will explore Turkey's role for the stability at the EU's south-eastern borders as well as its impact for the European Neighborhood Policy.
Political Geography:: Europe and Turkey

486. Sultan Tepe, Beyond Sacred and Secular: Politics of Religion in Israel and Turkey

Author:: Ani Sarkissian
Publication Date:: 09-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2008, 413 pp., ISBN 9780804758642.
Topic:: Politics
Political Geography:: Turkey

487. İhsan Dağı, Turkey between Democracy and Militarism: Post Kemalist Perspectives

Author:: Nezir Akyeşilmen
Publication Date:: 09-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Ankara: Orion Publications, 2008, 301 pp., ISBN 978-9944-769-19-8.
Political Geography:: Turkey

488. Ruth Mandel, Cosmopolitan Anxieties: Turkish Challenges to Citizenship and Belonging in Germany

Author:: Ayhan Kaya
Publication Date:: 09-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Durham and London: Duke University Pres, 2008, 415 pp., ISBN-10: 082234193X.
Political Geography:: Turkey and Germany

489. Umut Özkırımlı and Spyros A. Sofos, Tormented by History: Nationalism in Greece and Turkey

Author:: Bilgen Sütçüoğlu
Publication Date:: 09-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: London: Hurst Company, 2008, 220 pp., ISBN 9781850658993.
Topic:: Nationalism and History
Political Geography:: Turkey and Greece

490. John Garrard and Carol Garrard, Russian Orthodoxy Resurgent: Faith and Power in the New Russia

Author:: Norman Stone
Publication Date:: 09-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2008, 348 pp., ISBN 978-0-691-12573-2.
Political Geography:: Russia

491. Roxanne L. Euben, Journeys to the Other Shore: Muslim and Western Travelers in Search of Knowledge

Author:: Nabil Matar
Publication Date:: 09-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 2006, 328 pp., ISBN 978-1-4008-2749-7.

492. Kasra Naji, Ahmadinejad: The Secret History of Iran's Radical Leader

Author:: Arshin Adib-Moghaddam
Publication Date:: 09-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: California, University of California Press, 2008, 298 pp., ISBN: 978-0-520-25663-7.
Topic:: History
Political Geography:: Iran

493. Reclaiming Israeli-Syrian Talks

Author:: Ufuk Ulutaş
Publication Date:: 10-2009
Content Type:: Working Paper
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: The Israeli-Syrian track has been an important component of the Arab-Israeli peace talks due to its integral role in reaching comprehensive peace in the Middle East. The latest round of indirect peace talks between Israel and Syria was initiated under the sponsorship of Turkey on May 21, 2008, and by the end of 2008 both sides were ready to start the direct talks. However, in protest of Israeli aerial and ground offensive in Gaza in December 2008, Syria halted the indirect talks with Israel. Several factors, including the lack of American endorsement; Olmert's weak prospect in Israel due to the ongoing corruption investigation; approaching early elections, and the rise of rightist parties in Israel, topped by the Israeli offensive in Gaza, rendered the conciliation efforts futile.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Treaties and Agreements, and Bilateral Relations
Political Geography:: Turkey, Middle East, Israel, Arabia, Gaza, and Syria

494. Turkey's "Soft Power" Strategy: A New Vision for a Multi-Polar World

Author:: Cengiz Çandar
Publication Date:: 12-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: There is a lively debate centered on whether Turkey is undergoing an axis shift, meaning Turkey is drifting away from the Transatlantic system and heading towards the Middle East in the most acclaimed dailies and journals of the Western world. One may witness a flurry of commentaries, appraisals and op-ed articles published in these media outlets. Taking notice of the vibrant debate on Turkey's orientation in the international sphere, Turkey's leaders underlined Turkey's position with varying degrees of emphasis. Despite the statements of Turkey's policymakers, which argue against the idea of shift of axis, the debates over Turkey's identity and foreign policy orientation has not lost steam. The shift should not be attributed to Turkey's departure from its Western ties to be replaced by those with the East but rather, a shift of power as the inevitable outcome of the end of the Cold War and a fact of the new millennium.
Topic:: Foreign Policy and Diplomacy
Political Geography:: Turkey and Middle East

495. Turkey and the Palestinian Question

Author:: Bülent Aras
Publication Date:: 01-2009
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: The Palestinian question is a central issue at the both state and society level in Turkey. Thousands of Turkish people protested the Israeli aggression against the Palestinians in Gaza this month in different parts of Turkey. Turkish PM Erdogan responded to the Israeli action by labeling it an act of disrespect to Turkey and suspended Turkey's facilitating role for indirect talks between Israel and Syria. Erdogan also initiated an intensive diplomatic campaign at the regional and international levels, utilizing Turkey's seat in the United Nations Security Council. Turkey calls for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, and urges a compromise between rival Palestinian groups. Finally, the war on Gaza will have far-reaching consequences for the future of the region as well as for Turkish-Israeli relations.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Foreign Policy, and Ethnic Conflict
Political Geography:: Central Asia, Turkey, Middle East, and Palestine

496. Obama's Foreign Policy: Opportunities and Challenges

Author:: F. Stephen Larrabee
Publication Date:: 01-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Obama's election represents an important opportunity to put US- Turkish relations on a new, more cooperative footing. On many issues – especially those related to the Middle East – Obama's positions overlap or closely coincide with those of Turkey more than the policies pursued by the Bush administration. This is particularly true regarding Iran and Syria, which should help to reduce these issues as irritants in US-Turkish relations. The critical question mark is what position Obama will take regarding the Armenian genocide resolution, which is likely to be reintroduced in Congress in 2009. Passage of the resolution could deal a severe blow to prospects for putting US-Turkish relations on a new, more stable footing as well as undermine recent efforts at promoting Turkish-Armenian reconciliation that have opened up since President Gul's historic visit to Yerevan in September
Political Geography:: United States, Iran, Turkey, Middle East, and Syria

497. Obama's Turkey Policy: Bringing Credibility to "Strategic Partnership"

Author:: Ömer Taspinar
Publication Date:: 01-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: Under the Obama administration American foreign policy will be engaged in genuine coalition building with allies. Such a return to multilateralism will have a positive impact on transatlantic and Turkish-American relations. Just like under the Clinton presidency during the late 1990s, Turkey needs American support to undo the deadlock with the European Union. America's return to Middle East diplomacy will also improve Turkish-American relations since the Obama administration is much more likely to support Ankara's openings to Damascus. Turkey should make an effort to host a new Arab-Israeli peace process in the framework of an international conference in Istanbul. In the short run Ankara can avoid problems with Washington on the Armenian issue if it decides to enhance its military and civilian support to NATO forces in Afghanistan.
Topic:: Foreign Policy
Political Geography:: Afghanistan, America, Washington, Turkey, Middle East, and Armenia

498. Charting Turkish Diplomacy in the Gaza Conflict

Author:: Selin M. Bolme
Publication Date:: 01-2009
Content Type:: Journal Article
Journal:: Insight Turkey
Institution:: SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
Abstract:: On December 27, 2008, Israel launched a deadly attack on Gaza. Turkey responded immediately to the Israeli attacks and strongly criticized the operation. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan embarked on a tour of Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Egypt to garner support for an immediate ceasefire. Turkey's active diplomacy in the Gaza crisis is an indication of Turkey's new foreign policy vision and a self-confidence consolidated by strengthening relations with regional powers. Turkey's proactive policy in the region does not suggest that it will discontinue its relations with one side or the other. In fact, this supposition is marked by the old belief that Turkish foreign policy has a single axis or dimension. By observing the balance of power and keeping all actors involved in the process, Ankara has a greater chance of finding a just and sustainable solution to the Palestinian problem.
Topic:: Foreign Policy
Political Geography:: Turkey, Israel, South Africa, Gaza, Syria, Egypt, and Jordan

499. 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

500. 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

Search

Search Constraints

Search Results

Refine your search

Topic

Political Geography

Content Type

Journal

Publishing Institution

Author

Publication Year

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS