issues | Insight Turkey https://www.insightturkey.com/ issues EN Editor's NoteThe closure case against the ruling AK Party pending before the constitutional court occupied the center stage of Turkish politics throughout the summer.https://www.insightturkey.com/editors-note/editors-note-1https://www.insightturkey.com/editors-note/editors-note-1Fri, 21 Nov 2008 18:21:38 GMTCommentariesAmerican and Turkish leaders typically describe ties between the U.S. and Turkey as based on “common values and interests.” Yet given that the Bush administration’s relationship with Turkey has been marked by dysfunction and crisis, is that still true? A tendency to see Turkey as a function of Washington’s big idea of the moment, insensitivity to a broadening perception in Turkey of U.S. disregard for Turkish interests, inaction in the face of PKK terror, weak leadership on energy security, and schizophrenia toward Turkey’s internal politics have left U.S.–Turkish relations worse than when George W. Bush came to office. If U.S. and Turkish interests remain largely convergent at the strategic level, a more independent Turkish diplomacy will likely be part of the Bush legacy. As for “common values,” there is reason to hope that the real damage done to mutual perceptions is reversible.https://www.insightturkey.com/commentary/common-values-and-common-interests-the-bush-legacy-in-us-turkish-relationshttps://www.insightturkey.com/commentary/common-values-and-common-interests-the-bush-legacy-in-us-turkish-relationsFri, 21 Nov 2008 11:09:54 GMTCommentariesIncreasing number of Turks have come to recognize that their country's traditionally hesitant and circumspect foreign policy no longer serves its interests, and is commensurate with Turkey's regional weight. Accordingly, the governing Justice and Development Party has attempted to shed that tradition by seeking to engage Turkey's neighbors proactively in recent years. In the Caucasus, Ankara has taken steps that may lead to the normalization of relations with Yerevan and the breaking of the stalemate over Nagorno-Karabakh. The Russo-Georgian War of 2008, however, demonstrates that Turkish diplomacy faces a severe test for which it may not be prepared. The war revealed that old institutional practices continue to constrain Turkey's diplomacy; moreover, the war restored Russia to the position of spoiler in the Caucasus. The return of Russia may mean that Turkey's new diplomacy will be too little, too late.https://www.insightturkey.com/commentary/turkeys-troubles-in-the-caucasushttps://www.insightturkey.com/commentary/turkeys-troubles-in-the-caucasusFri, 21 Nov 2008 11:20:10 GMTCommentariesGeorgia's military gamble in South Ossetia in August 2008 opened a Pandora's Box of misfortunes. Tbilisi is now faced with the loss of its breakaway republics of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, meanwhile creating a potential opportunity for Russia to assume a much-coveted control over the energy transit routes passing through Georgia. While the conflict has further spoiled the relations between the West and Russia, setting in motion stiffer competition between the two to secure the energy sources of Central Asia and Azerbaijan, the pragmatic calculations of the players involved in the Eurasian energy game may eventually change the tone of the game. With unresolved issues surrounding doubts over the sufficiency of energy supplies and the availability of means to deliver them from Central Asia and the Caucasus to Europe, Russia's preeminent position as a supplier of energy to the West will be maintained.https://www.insightturkey.com/commentary/future-of-energy-transportation-in-eurasia-after-the-georgia-crisishttps://www.insightturkey.com/commentary/future-of-energy-transportation-in-eurasia-after-the-georgia-crisisSat, 01 Nov 2008 11:55:00 GMTArticlesThe prospects for Turkey’s ambitions for full EU membership do not appear to be very bright in the current conjuncture. The “grand coalition for special partnership" appears to be firmly entrenched. With key chapters for negotiation already suspended what is likely to happen is that the government in power is likely to pursue a loose Europanization agenda of gradual reforms falling considerably short of deep commitment for full-membership. The paper investigates the underlying reasons for the decline of enthusiasm for EU membership following the golden age of Europeanization and reforms during the early years of the AK Party government. The article also points to domestic and external developments which may help to reverse the current stalemate and, hence, ends with an optimistic note concerning the future of Turkey-EU relations.https://www.insightturkey.com/article/turkey-eu-relations-beyond-the-current-stalematehttps://www.insightturkey.com/article/turkey-eu-relations-beyond-the-current-stalemateFri, 21 Nov 2008 12:20:03 GMTArticlesThe paper analyzes Turkey’s democratization efforts between 2004 and 2008. In addition to the challenges that the EU accession process brings to the Turkish political structure, an assessment of the current impasse of Turkey’s democratization along the EU accession process is made with respect to the detailed analysis of two major issues: the Cyprus issue and civil-military relations. With an eye to studying the EU’s impact on the domestic politics of accession countries with special reference to Turkey, the paper concentrates on the current government’s performance over the past three years in EU accession negotiations, showing how this immediate experience reveals the main problematical issues of Turkey-EU relations under these two headings. The concluding remarks focus on two crucial problems of the post-2004 period in Turkey: the sustainability of the reform process and the importance of the time factor in evaluating the EU’s leverage on democratization.https://www.insightturkey.com/article/turkey-and-the-eu-democratization-civil-military-relations-and-the-cyprus-issuehttps://www.insightturkey.com/article/turkey-and-the-eu-democratization-civil-military-relations-and-the-cyprus-issueSat, 01 Nov 2008 12:28:00 GMTArticlesThis study investigates the relationship between the announcement of Turkey's EU candidacy status at the EU's Helsinki Summit in 1999, and the development and transformation of Turkish civil society organizations (CSOs). It is argued that theories of historical institutionalism and rational choice institutionalism provides a useful framework for explaining the changes that took place in the number and institutional structures of Turkish CSOs. Historical institutionalism helps explain how the EU's affirmation of Turkey's EU candidacy has served as a critical juncture for the evolution of path dependency for Turkish CSOs. The economic reforms and democratization driven by Turkey's accession process are given special attention in this respect. Rational choice institutionalism will be employed to explain structural transformations wthin Turkish CSOs, and their considerable dependence on the funds provided by the EU.https://www.insightturkey.com/article/explaining-transformation-of-turkish-civil-society-in-the-eu-accession-processhttps://www.insightturkey.com/article/explaining-transformation-of-turkish-civil-society-in-the-eu-accession-processFri, 21 Nov 2008 12:32:23 GMTArticlesBi-ethnic Belgium has skillfully developed cooperation and concertation arrangements which meet even the EU's rigid “one voice" requirement, taking into consideration the continuing increase in the Powers and function of its regions and communities. Belgium consequently offers a huge box of tools, particularly to bi-ethnic or multi ethnic partnership states Probably the most distinguishing differences between Cyprus and Belgium are the chronic conflictual relationship between the two ex-partner peoples of Cyprus and the absence there of a common vision of co-existence and equal power sharing. If the two sides in Cyprus could be incentivized enough to sincerely opt for equal partnership, the Belgian multi-tier governance experience, despite some significant differences between the two lands, could still otter some practical lessons from which eager parties in Cyprus could benefit.https://www.insightturkey.com/article/cyprus-the-belgian-tool-box-revisitedhttps://www.insightturkey.com/article/cyprus-the-belgian-tool-box-revisitedFri, 21 Nov 2008 12:50:05 GMTArticlesConflicting dynamics and power calculation: within the Bush administration have given rise to contradictory signals coming from Washington regarding how best to deal with the Iranian puzzle. The situation indicates a lack of strategic coherence that could tip the balance toward a military showdown with Iran. If anything, the 2001 and 2003 wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, which have essentially altered the balance of power to Iran's advantage, represent a total disregard for the ensuing negative consequences for the region. Under such circumstances, the absence of serious, direct talks with Iran have the potential to lead to greater momentum for wan In this paper, we set out to examine the internal and regional consequences of a US. attack on Iran, while asserting that the benefits of cooperation outweigh the costs of military confrontation. Negotiating with Iran is the only reasonable solution to the crisis confronting these two powers, and U.S.-Iran rapprochement can have a stabilizing impact on the entire region. Conversely, the implications of confrontation will be horrendously costly and profound.https://www.insightturkey.com/article/dealing-with-iran-confrontation-or-negotiationhttps://www.insightturkey.com/article/dealing-with-iran-confrontation-or-negotiationFri, 21 Nov 2008 13:51:06 GMTBook ReviewsSina Akşin should be applauded in his effort to produce a book that explores the crucial transition period of the multi-ethnic, multi-religious Ottoman Empire into a vibrant nation-state, the Republic of Turkey, though the clearly articulated intention behind the writing of this book is perhaps its greatest shortcoming.https://www.insightturkey.com/book-reviews/turkey-from-empire-to-revolutionary-republic-the-emergence-of-the-turkish-nation-from-1789-to-presenthttps://www.insightturkey.com/book-reviews/turkey-from-empire-to-revolutionary-republic-the-emergence-of-the-turkish-nation-from-1789-to-presentFri, 21 Nov 2008 17:12:30 GMTBook ReviewsOf Sina Akşin’s book Turkey from Empire to Revolutionary Republic: The emergence of the Turkish nation from 1789 to present published in 2007, the first point to mention is that its title immediately recalls the historiographical approaches to the French Revolution, and specifically the Third Republic of the French Revolution.https://www.insightturkey.com/book-reviews/turkey-from-empire-to-revolutionary-republic-the-emergence-of-the-turkish-nation-from-1789-to-present-1https://www.insightturkey.com/book-reviews/turkey-from-empire-to-revolutionary-republic-the-emergence-of-the-turkish-nation-from-1789-to-present-1Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:16:07 GMTBook ReviewsIf nationalism is one of the concrete outcomes of modernity, the emergence of pedagogical state is another new feature of this transformative period.https://www.insightturkey.com/book-reviews/the-pedagogical-state-education-and-the-politics-of-national-culture-in-post-1980-turkeyhttps://www.insightturkey.com/book-reviews/the-pedagogical-state-education-and-the-politics-of-national-culture-in-post-1980-turkeyWed, 21 Nov 2018 16:20:29 GMTBook ReviewsThe volume is testimony to how gentlemen scholars inspire their younger counterparts. Such legacy deserves honoring beyond institutional awards valuable though they may be. Compiled and edited in Professor Norman Itzkowitz’ honor, Identity and Identity Formation in the Ottoman World is composed of four parts: The Pre and Early Ottoman Periods, The Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, The Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, and The Twentieth Century. Periodization of this kind is refreshing to readers from Turkey, who are still inundated with periodizations such as the Rise, Zenith, Decline, and Fall of the Empire categories.https://www.insightturkey.com/book-reviews/identity-and-identity-formation-in-the-ottoman-world-a-volume-of-essays-in-honor-of-norman-itzkowitzhttps://www.insightturkey.com/book-reviews/identity-and-identity-formation-in-the-ottoman-world-a-volume-of-essays-in-honor-of-norman-itzkowitzFri, 21 Nov 2008 17:26:28 GMTBook ReviewsWithout doubt the European Union today stands before important choices. Will it after the recent enlargement when EU 15 has turned into EU 27 (and there are also new countries that stands in the doorway) be able to deepen the process of European integration?https://www.insightturkey.com/book-reviews/european-solidarityhttps://www.insightturkey.com/book-reviews/european-solidarityFri, 21 Nov 2008 17:31:33 GMTBook ReviewsDebates on the position and reaction of Muslim societies towards secularism and democracy have considerably increased in recent years. Contextual factors have left their imprints on such discussions; in the post 9/11 period, the number of those who argue that Islam inherently contradicts secularism and democracy has increased.https://www.insightturkey.com/book-reviews/secularism-confronts-islamhttps://www.insightturkey.com/book-reviews/secularism-confronts-islamFri, 21 Nov 2008 17:33:59 GMTBook ReviewsWhen I first received a copy of Zachary Shore’s Breeding Bin Ladens: America, Islam and the Future of Europe, published by John Hopkins University Press (2006), I was under the impression I was about to read a formidable academic treatise on an important but much maligned area of research, social commentary and policy-making thinking. However, as I began to read the text closely, I soon realised that this book is far from that.https://www.insightturkey.com/book-reviews/breeding-bin-ladens-america-islam-and-the-future-of-europehttps://www.insightturkey.com/book-reviews/breeding-bin-ladens-america-islam-and-the-future-of-europeFri, 21 Nov 2008 17:36:33 GMTBook ReviewsAfter the fall of the Soviet Union, Central Asia experienced a substantial revival of Islam. Mosques were Opened and reopened, and many people began to pray regularly. Madrasas were opened to provide Islamic education. Seeing this general resurgence, some observers, particularly in the West, have expected that militant Islamic fundamentalist groups would also prosper inhttps://www.insightturkey.com/book-reviews/islam-after-communism-religion-and-politics-in-central-asiahttps://www.insightturkey.com/book-reviews/islam-after-communism-religion-and-politics-in-central-asiaFri, 21 Nov 2008 17:41:24 GMT