By Gareth H. Jenkins (vol. 3, no. 6 of the Turkey Analyst)

On March 22, Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) announced a package of 26 proposed changes to the country’s constitution, including a restructuring of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Board of Prosecutors and Judges (HSYK).  Hailed as a major step towards full democratization and the harmonization of Turkish legislation with the requirements for EU accession by AKP supporters, the constitutional amendments are conversely criticized by the party’s opponents as an attempt by the AKP to seize control of the judicial system.

By Halil M. Karaveli and M.K. Kaya (vol. 3, no. 6 of the Turkey Analyst)

Opinion polls in Turkey show that there is a very real possibility that the next general election may return one or two of the nationalist opposition parties, CHP and MHP to power. The nationalist opposition, together with strong resistance within the ruling AKP itself and the government’s mishandling of those initiatives, has in fact already helped force the AKP to abandon its openings to Armenia and to the Kurdish minority. A Turkey ruled by the secularist-nationalists would be more circumspect in its dealings with Muslim countries. Yet in a fundamental sense, the secularist-nationalists are, just like the current government, inclined to defy the West, strategically as well as ideologically.

By Svante E. Cornell (vol. 3, no. 5 of the Turkey Analyst)

In spite of great hopes and much foreign pressure, the Turkish-Armenian reconciliation process can be said to have failed to bring about its intended result. Under current circumstances, the likelihood of the ratification of the Protocols signed in August 2009 is close to nil, barring some major turn of events. It is therefore time to reflect on the reasons that the process failed; and the implications for Turkey and the wider region. The process itself is in fact illustrative of the erroneous assumptions that Western political leaders appear to have harbored about regional realities.