By Gareth H. Jenkins (vol. 3, no. 20 of the Turkey Analyst)

The reaffirmation of Turkey’s continued active membership in NATO should reassure those who have been worried that the ruling Justice and development party (AKP) is abandoning Turkey’s westward strategic ties and embracing an eastern orientation. Nonetheless, an evolution of Turkey’s strategic identity cannot be ruled out since the current Turkish government has been abandoning many other long-standing foreign policy tenets.

By M. K. Kaya and Halil M. Karaveli (vol. 3, no. 20 of the Turkey Analyst)

The dominance of the Justice and development party (AKP) and the prospect of a perpetuation of the party’s rule for another term are creating a momentum for alternatives that hold the promise of rearranging the Turkish political landscape. The recent suggestion that the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) form an electoral alliance may not be as far-fetched as it appears. Such an alliance would enable the opposition to seriously challenge the AKP.

By Gareth H. Jenkins (vol. 03, no. 19 of the Turkey Analyst)

The restructuring of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), which is responsible for appointments and disciplinary procedures in the Turkish judicial system, was one of the key reforms in the package of constitutional amendments which were approved in a referendum on September 12, 2010. During the referendum campaign, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) claimed that the restructuring of bodies such as the HSYK and the Constitutional Court were prerequisites for the establishment of what it termed an “independent judiciary”. The reformed HSYK held its first meeting on October 25, 2010. Yet both its composition and its initial decisions have reinforced, rather than allayed, growing concerns both about the politicization of judicial processes in Turkey and the increasing authoritarianism of the AKP.