Gareth H. Jenkins (vol. 2, no. 21 of the Turkey Analyst)

The publication in the Turkish media of another slew of documents allegedly containing plans by elements in the Turkish General Staff (TGS) to stage a series of violent attacks and destabilize the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has once again raised tensions between the military and the civilian authorities. The authenticity of the documents has been hotly disputed. But what it is clear is that – regardless of whether or not they are genuine – the frequency with which such documents are now appearing in certain sections of the Turkish media is forcing the Turkish military onto the defensive and reducing its ability to exercise political influence.

By M. K. Kaya (vol. 2, no. 21 of the Turkey Analyst) 

With its Kurdish opening, the Turkish government has set out to reinvent Turkey, in order to secure the integrity of the state and consolidate society. The AKP is succeeding in reaching out to the Kurds. However, the opening is being met with stiff opposition from Turkish nationalists, and the AKP will ignore that opposition at its own peril. The Kurdish imperative also plays an important if hidden role behind some of Turkey’s recent, controversial foreign policy initiatives.

By Halil M. Karaveli and M.K. Kaya (vol. 2, no. 20 of the Turkey Analyst)

The attitude toward the Jewish “other” offers a prism through which Turkey’s ideological affiliation may be appraised. The Islamic conservatives and the secularist nationalists come across as similarly apt to be suspicious of the Jewish “other”. They are parented heirs to an illiberal tradition that has flourished throughout the nominally secular republican era. The conclusion that imposes itself is that the Turkish modernization endeavor remains hampered by an inability to fully internalize the values of liberal, universal civilization.