Erdogan versus Koç Holding: Turkey's New Witch Hunt
By Svante E. Cornell (vol. 6, no. 18 of the Turkey Analyst)
Following the Taksim square protests, Prime Minister Erdogan has instigated a witch hunt targeting the country’s largest industrial conglomerate, the Koç Group. Since the Koç Group-owned Divan hotel allowed a crowd fleeing tear gas fired by the police to take refuge in the hotel, the conglomerate has seen an unprecedented army of financial inspectors descend on its companies in the energy sector, saw the cancellation of a tender to construct warships for the Turkish navy, and had a lawsuit filed against for abetting the military intervention in 1997. This attack on a group responsible for a tenth of Turkey’s GDP is not only further evidence of Erdogan’s authoritarianism, but also dangerous for Turkey’s economic development. Coming at a time of uncertainty over the economic prospects of large emerging markets like Turkey, punitive action against the Koç Group would be taken very seriously by international markets.
The Democratization Package and Erdoğan's Hall of Mirrors
By Gareth Jenkins (vol. 6, no. 18 of the Turkey Analyst)
On September 30, 2013, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced what he termed a “democratization package” of proposed legislative amendments. Yet not only does the package fail to address the key components of Turkey’s growing democratic deficit but it has reinforced concerns about Erdoğan’s increasingly autocratic authoritarianism.
Fifty Years after the Ankara Agreement: the Need for New Commitments
By Ozan Serdaroğlu (vol.6, no. 17 of the Turkey Analyst)
Since the signing of Ankara Agreement in 1963, European enlargement towards Turkey has been evolving in a volatile momentum. Although Turkey’s eligibility for full membership has been confirmed by the agreement, the experiences accumulated during the last 50 years demonstrate that the Turkish case amounts to a “failed enlargement”, as the lack of real commitment and clear membership perspective dilutes the process. Even if the full membership continues to be an “officially” shared objective, the Turkish accession is likely to be prolonged during the upcoming years if a new vision is not introduced in light of these experiences.
Is Turkey going to reconsider its Sunni sectarian policy in Syria?
By Halil M. Karaveli (vol. 6, no. 17 of the Turkey Analyst)
Turkey may not yet be ready to reexamine its Syria policy and to acknowledge that it bears a share of the responsibility for the present state of affairs in Syria. The official Turkish narrative is that things in Syria would have been much different if only the “moderates”, “the ones who are working for democracy” that Turkey has supported had been assisted by the United States. What Turkey needs to do in response to the growing security threat that Syria represents is to make sure that the impression that Turkey is committed to promoting a sectarian, Arab Sunni cause in Syria is dispelled. President Gül’s statement that Turkey is making a “significant effort” to remove the jihadist threat on its border is a hopeful sign.
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