By Kemal Kaya (vo. 6, no. 21 of the Turkey Analyst)

Petro-politics fuels the evolving relationship between Ankara, Erbil and Baghdad. At the heart of the new oil game in Mesopotamia is the question of how the oil from the territory of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) is going to be transported to the world markets. Turkey’s strategic position – and its economy – is set to be strengthened as it taps into the oil riches of Iraqi Kurdistan and as it realizes its ambition to be a major regional oil hub.

By Burak Bilgehan Özpek (vol. 6, no. 19 of the Turkey Analyst)

In traditional Turkish bazaars, salesmen ask the same question if you have purchased a precious good: Do you want me to package this? This question actually aims to find the answer whether the good is going to be used by the buyer or if it is intended to be presented as a gift. Thus, the  word “package” acquires a new meaning. It refers to a cover and it is applied to estheticize a good, which is presented as a gift. Such a  discourse analysis in fact helps us understand why the government of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has used the word “package” in promoting its democratization  reforms.  Yet measured against liberal principles and expectations, the democratization package makes little or no contribution to the liberalization of Turkey.

By Gareth H. Jenkins (vol. 6, no. 16 of the Turkey Analyst) 

On September 9, 2013, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announced that it had halted the phased withdrawal of its militants from Turkey but would continue with its temporary ceasefire in order to give the Turkish government a last opportunity to meets its demands for greater rights for the country’s Kurdish minority.