By Halil Magnus Karaveli (vol. 1, no. 14 of the Turkey Analyst)
As the hopes that the AKP would get back on the track of reform and democratization recede, there is a real chance that the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) could reinvent itself as a centrist alternative in Turkish politics. There are also encouraging signs that Turkish social democrats realize that they have to revert to their old ways and make peace with Europe.
By M. K. Kaya (vol. 1, no. 14 of the Turkey Analyst)
Corruption allegations have a prominent place on the Turkish political agenda. In a sense, the history of Turkish democracy reads like a chronicle of corruption allegations directed at governments. With the evolution of Turkey’s economy and the rapid urbanization since 1980, corruption has affected all governing parties following that year’s military coup. The same has been true for the AKP, in spite of the party’s self-proclaimed image of purity and its anti-corruption rhetoric. A recent German court case exposes the mechanisms of Islamist political and media finance.
By Halil Magnus Karaveli (vol. 1, no. 13 of the Turkey Analyst)
On September 12, 1980, the Turkish military staged a coup that was to have wide-ranging consequences. That date is indeed the defining point of recent Turkish history. The repercussions of the 1980 coup still reverberate. The dynamics of Turkish politics - the moderate Islamists assumption of power, the depreciation of secularism by the liberal intelligentsia and its alignment with Islamic conservatism - can only be properly grasped against the backdrop of what the generals accomplished during their dictatorship in the 1980s.
By M. K. Kaya and Svante E. Cornell (vol. 1, no. 12 of the Turkey Analyst)
Like most other states, Turkey was hard pressed to respond to the war in Georgia. For Turkey, the war threatened its position in the Caucasus, as well as its long-term objective of becoming a hub of European energy transportation. Prime Minister Erdogan chose to moment in order to promote a form of Caucasian alliance - a well-intentioned but somewhat surreal proposal in the middle of a raging war. The crisis exposed the government's lack of attention to the Caucasus, and the need for a serious rethink of Turkey's role there
The Turkey Analyst is a publication of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Joint Center, designed to bring authoritative analysis and news on the rapidly developing domestic and foreign policy issues in Turkey. It includes topical analysis, as well as a summary of the Turkish media debate.
Sign up for upcoming events, latest news and articles from the CACI Analyst