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 11 of the Turkey Analyst)

The solution to Turkey’s regime crisis must logically be sought in the center of the political spectrum. However, the revival of the center-right force of Turkish politics represents a difficult challenge. For it to make a difference, the right must break with its tradition of playing with religion. An alternative must be formulated that is more stridently secular than what the center-right traditionally has been. But for it to be viable, such a centrist force needs simultaneously to be attractive to the conservative base of the centre-right, a challenging task.

By M.K. Kaya and Svante E. Cornell (vol. 1, no. 10 of the Turkey Analyst) 

Turkey’s military occupies a position of influence in the country’s society and politics unseen in any other western democracy. However, in spite of a propensity to interfere in politics, the top brass has remained relatively quiet in the past year, while the driving force in the vocal opposition to the AKP government has been the judiciary. But given the growing intensity of Turkey’s regime crisis, illustrated by the July 1 arrests, it remains to be seen whether the military can succeed in staying out of this fight.

By Halil Magnus Karaveli (vol. 1, no. 9 of the Turkey Analyst) 

As the storms gather around the AKP, its rule is by all accounts likely to draw to a close. What went wrong with Turkey’s experiment of moderate Islamism? It is tempting for western observers to conclude that it was sabotaged by a supposedly autocratic, dogmatically secularist state establishment which is unwilling to surrender its positions of power. But the fatal mistake of the Islamists has precisely been to expect the seculars to accept surrender.

By M. K. Kaya and Svante E. Cornell (vol. 1, no. 8 of the Turkey Analyst)

Political leaders in Turkey have tried to manipulate media for decades, and the AKP government is no exception. The AKP government is apparently bent on creating a pliant media. As much of the centrist, mainstream media turned against it in 2007, the government has assertively sought to secure its influence over media, engineering the takeover of major media outlets by friendly forces. The recent takeover by CALIK holding of the Sabah/ATV group and the machinations involving the Dogan holding are cases in point.