Insight Turkey / issues

Editor's Note | Summer 2009

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:11:00 GMT

The Turkish political scene did not witness a profound change with the local elections of March 2009. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) continued its strong electoral performance and maintained its status as the most popular political force.

Can Islam and Modernity be Reconciled?

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:24:13 GMT

Is Islam particularly inimical to modernity, and the two are never to be reconciled? Many westerners and Muslims alike would argue that this is the case. Yet the more pertinent question; is religion in general and modernity incompatible and irreconcilable? There is a basic tension between all religions which rely on revelation as the primary source of knowledge and on God as the source of law and ethics, and modernity which privileges reason as the main source of knowledge and posits the source of law and ethics in human beings. An objective and unbiased reading of Islam shows that it is no more inimical to modernity than any other religion. Rather some of its aspects, including its emphasis on the importance of reason, its injunction that there is no compulsion in faith, and its frequent reference to people and their rights makes a reconciliation between Islam and modernity possible.

Iran’s Presidential Election: The Failure of Managed Functionalism

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:36:22 GMT

Iran’s elections have historically managed factional conflict without altering the institutional distribution of power. Against this political background, the June 2009 elections stand out as a unique event. Elections that once served to manage conflict have now become a destabilizing factor. While the regime appears to have forcefully silenced the widespread post-election protests, the 2009 uprising shows the new limits of elections in managing factional conflict, which spread out to include Iran’s people. The regime grossly miscalculated not just the effects of massive public participation in the 2009 elections, but also the buildup of widespread grievances among a substantial section of Iran’s citizens. The protests have aggravated the ruling elite’s fear of a “velvet revolution” instigated by the West. Consequently, post-election negotiations between Iran and the Western powers regarding Iran’s nuclear program are likely to meet significant obstacles, since recent events have further diminished confidence between Iran and its antagonists.

Black Turks, White Turks: On the Three Requirements of Turkish Citizenship

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:53:16 GMT

Turkish media frequently employ the term “White Turks” to describe the Turkish cultural elite. Although Turks are unfamiliar with American-style racial divides, the terms “black” and “white” are widely used to color-code inequalities in Turkey. The common tendency to distinguish White Turks from Black Turks on the basis of wealth, however, fails to uncover the historical and cultural dynamics that gave rise to these two groups. This essay not only offers a necessary clarification of this popular heuristic device but also proposes a perspective for understanding the current standoff in Turkish politics between the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP, Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi) and the secular establishment, with their distinct value systems and competing claims to modernity.

Armenian-Turkish Rapprochement: Timing Matters

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:04:50 GMT

The Road Map to normalization of bilateral Armenian-Turkish relations announced in April 2009 has not yet been made public, and a slowdown is evident in the Armenian-Turkish rapprochement. Turkey’s strategy involves working to mitigate Azerbaijan’s resentment against potential Armenian-Turkish normalization by tying its progress to the resolution of the conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh in a way that suits Azerbaijan. As a result, however, Armenian society is becoming increasingly apprehensive of the entire Armenian-Turkish dialogue. Tying rapprochement to the conflict makes sense from a zero-sum-game perspective but risks jeopardizing the entire process, as the formats and stakeholders are too different. Timing is the key factor now: political actors and societies are becoming frustrated and are no longer certain that the project of rapprochement has a future. Should no definite step towards normalization be made by autumn 2009, public frustration may overwhelm the project and mutual relations may end up worse than they were prior to the start of football diplomacy.

The Alliance of Civilizations: A Spanish View

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:20:09 GMT

In the foreseeable future, the international system will become one of multipolarity. This new order can be sustainable and peaceful only if it can guarantee harmony and a common purpose among nations. To that end, it must be based upon a package of ethical principles under the aegis of a more powerful, democratic and efficient United Nations system. These principles – democracy, multilateralism, full compliance with international law and respect for human rights – are the same moral rules that underpin the Alliance of Civilizations project as initiated by Spain and Turkey. It was a consequence of the awareness that something new had to be done to prevent a potential confrontation between two worlds, two mindsets. There was, and still is, a danger of a further drift between Islamic and Western societies that might threaten international peace and stability.

Turkey and the Alliance of Civilizations: Norm Adoption as a Survival Strategy

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:35:18 GMT

This article asks why Turkey recently adopted the emerging international norm of inter-civilizational dialogue as one of its foreign policy priorities. In addressing this question, we turn first to an assessment of the limitations of normative and realist arguments, then suggest that the Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) considerations of domestic political survival were necessary factors in the adoption of inter-civilizational dialogue, even though in and of themselves, they were not sufficient. The AK Party government, circumscribed by the secularist establishment, strategically adopted the norm of inter-civilizational dialogue to create a legitimate space for its survival in Turkey’s domestic political sphere. This conclusion stems from the theoretical finding that in those states in which political power is not concentrated in the government, the domestic political considerations of the government gain priority in foreign policymaking.

The Alliance of Civilizations: Possibilities of Conflict Resolution at the Civilizational Level

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 13:53:44 GMT

This study examines the possible contributions of the critical perspectives and conceptual frameworks of the Conflict Resolution field to address “civilizational level” conflicts. The possibilities and limitations of dialogue processes at the civilizational level are critically examined. While recognizing the main assumptions and contributions of dialogue processes to deal with cultural/civilizational conflicts, this study puts forward an alternative and more practical vision: that of creating Spheres of Dialogic Interaction (SODI). In the second part of the study, the social and political backgrounds, practical contributions, and limitations of two recent projects the “Dialogue among Civilizations” (DaC) and the “Alliance of Civilizations” (AoC) are analyzed. It is argued that with its action-oriented agenda and the practical environment conducive to flexible, interactive and reflexive interaction, the ongoing AoC project is an important venue for creating SODI.

The Alliance of Civilizations: The Poverty of the Clash/Alliance Dichotomy?

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:10:57 GMT

The Alliance of Civilizations (AoC) initiative emerged from debates around the “clash of civilizations.” Based on this I will argue that the “alliance” notion is an integral part of the clash of civilizations thesis. Thereby, clash and alliance together form a mutually constituting “dichotomy,” which I will call “the clash/alliance dichotomy.” In the first part of the article, I will give a brief summary of the emergence and expansion of the “clash of civilizations” myth. The second part seeks to underline important attempts to “de-mythize” the clash of civilizations thesis. Later, I will show how the “dialogue” notion emerged as a response to the clash-based ideas and how it became a complementary part of “the clash/alliance dichotomy”. In the last part, I will focus on the problems of the AoC that stems from the fact that it emerged as a “reactionary entity.”

The European Union and Political Cleavages in Turkey

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:38:18 GMT

This article examines how the Turks’ views of the European Union align with notions of a center-periphery cleavage in Turkish politics. Traditionally, pro-European views have been associated with the more prosperous, better-educated “center,” whereas the rural, less educated and more religious Turks of the “periphery” have been less supportive of aspects of Europeanization. Examination of 2002 survey data finds that more religious voters were less supportive of the EU. However, analysis from a similar survey done in 2006 finds the religious factor to be insignificant whereas education, typically associated with the “center,” is now related to negative feelings toward the EU. This turnabout is reflected as well in the positions of Turkey’s two major parties and can be attributed to how each side of this cleavage views the benefits of closer ties to the EU.

The Davutoğlu Era in Turkish Foreign Policy

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 14:52:12 GMT

Ahmet Davutoğlu was appointed Turkish foreign minister on May 1, 2009. Chief advisor to the Turkish prime minister since 2002, Davutoglu is known as the intellectual architect of Turkish foreign policy under the AK Party. He articulated a novel foreign policy vision and succeeded, to a considerable extent, in changing the rhetoric and practice of Turkish foreign policy. Turkey’s new dynamic and multidimensional foreign policy line is visible on the ground, most notably to date in the country’s numerous and significant efforts to address chronic problems in neighboring regions. Davutoğlu’s duty will now shift from the intellectual design of policies to greater actual involvement in foreign policy as he undertakes his new responsibilities as minister of foreign affairs. The Davutoğlu era in Turkish foreign policy will deepen Turkey’s involvement in regional politics, international organizations, and world politics.

Turkey and the Middle East in the ‘New Era’ [Full Text]

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:16:26 GMT

Barack Obama’s inauguration as America’s new president has been welcomed as opening a ‘new era’ in Turkey’s relations with the United States. May 2009 also saw the appointment of a new foreign minister in Ankara, in the person of Professor Ahmet Davutoğlu. This article examines how these new directions are playing out in the Middle East, one of the world’s most turbulent regions which also has crucial economic and strategic importance for Turkey. It focuses on Turkey’s relations with four regional states – Iraq, Israel/Palestine, Syria and Iran. The article closes by assessing whether Turkey has been able to achieve the government’s ambition of ‘zero problems’ with its neighbors, and the degree to which it has been able to develop a new role as conciliator and go-between in addressing the region’s bitter conflicts.

Turkey’s Emerging Role as a Mediator on Iran’s Nuclear Activities

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:32:24 GMT

The international community is worried about the security implications of Iran’s nuclear activities. Although it has been argued that Iran is very close to make a nuclear bomb, the results of the latest official reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and some American intelligence institutions demonstrate that Iran is not reluctant to consider the concerns of the international community in its decisions. One of the main policies of great powers is to cooperate with regional actors, like Turkey, to persuade Iran to be more flexible in its nuclear policy and particularly in its uranium enrichment activity. The historical mistrust between Iran and the great powers reinforces the necessity of having other regional actors act as mediators and countries like Turkey can play an important role in this context. The governing AKP’s mediation policy in the regional level is a catalyst to Turkey’s attempts to mediate between Iran and the 5+1 Group, although mediation can have its own difficulties.

The Caucasus: Which Role for Turkey in the European Neighborhood?

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 15:48:55 GMT

The Turkish proposal of a Caucasus Stability and Cooperation Platform (CSCP), and its impact on existing EU initiatives covering the same region, represents a challenge for the future shape of the European neighborhood. This article analyzes the evolution of the CSCP since its launch in summer 2008 until now and presents the platform’s approach and main ideas. A core question will be whether the Turkish proposal will be complementary to or in competition with other European initiatives such as the Eastern Partnership or the Black Sea Synergy. Different stakeholders’ perceptions of the CSCP will also be outlined. Finally, an outlook will be given which will explore Turkey’s role for the stability at the EU’s south-eastern borders as well as its impact for the European Neighborhood Policy.

Cosmopolitan Anxieties: Turkish Challenges to Citizenship and Belonging in Germany

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:41:42 GMT

Ruth Mandel’s brilliant work entitled Cosmopolitan Anxieties: Turkish Challenges to Citizenship and Belonging in Germany very eloquently proves Migration Studies is not only about migration; it rather covers more than that. The book is composed of eleven chapters designed to discuss the history of Turkish presence in Germany with a particular emphasis on Kreuzberg and Berlin.

Tormented by History: Nationalism in Greece and Turkey

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:44:52 GMT

Readers might expect Tormented by History to be a new contribution to the vast literature of relations between Greece and Turkey, due to the shared history andantagonisms between the two countries.

Turkey between Democracy and Militarism: Post Kemalist Perspectives

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:37:28 GMT

Turkey between Democracy and Militarism: Post Kemalist Perspectives” provides a comprehensive picture of the struggle taking place in contemporary Turkey. It consists of 13 chapters that deal with issues ranging from militarism to Kemalism and secularism, from nationalism to Kurdish question, political parties and finally relations with the West, particularly the EU and the US.

Beyond Sacred and Secular: Politics of Religion in Israel and Turkey

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:30:41 GMT

Since the 1980s, religious parties have enjoyed electoral success in a range of countries, raising questions about why religious movements have prospered despite previous predictions of secularization and how these movements will affect world politics in general.

Russian Orthodoxy Resurgent: Faith and Power in the New Russia

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:48:34 GMT

Anatoly Golitsyn’s New Lies for Old was published in 1984, when ‘Gorby’ was emerging. The book made waves, because the author, a defector from Soviet Military Intelligence, obviously had some idea as to what was going on.

Journeys to the Other Shore: Muslim and Western Travelers in Search of Knowledge

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:52:09 GMT

This book is a rich and deeply engaging study of comparative travel and political theory. Bringing together Muslim and non-Muslim writers, Roxanne L. Euben, Mildred Lane Kemper Professor of Political Science at Wellesley College, examines intersections, divergences, and parallels in the writings of six travelers into different parts of the world at different periods of time. It is, as the TLS critic wrote, “a pathbreaking book.”

Ahmadinejad: The Secret History of Iran’s Radical Leader

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:55:02 GMT

No other President of Iran has had comparable air time on international media outlets than Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It was reported that the ticket to his speech at Columbia University in September 2007 sold out almost as fast as those granting access to the concert of Bruce Springsteen, one of the idols of the popular music culture in the United States.