Insight Turkey / issues

Editor's Note | Fall 2016

Sat, 01 Oct 2016 14:19:00 GMT

Turkey has been holding elections since the end of the 19th century; and the country has been enjoying democratic elections since 1950. With a well-established electoral system, both local and general elections in Turkey are held in peace and stability. While there is no debate about the freeness, fairness and transparency of the elections, there are always some discussions about the representation problem such as the real power of politicians, the national threshold for political parties to be able to send their representatives to the parliament and the lack of instruments to overcome political crises.

The Transformation of Turkey’s Political System and the Executive Presidency

Sat, 01 Oct 2016 14:24:00 GMT

This commentary analyzes the question of political transformation in Turkey, which has been a hotly debated issue for more than 40 years. Over the past decades, each proposal to reform the country’s system of government was met with resistance from critics and it was turned into a personal issue by targeting the plan’s supporters rather than the idea itself. After a brief analysis of the previous arguments, this study will focus specifically on the most recent efforts to adopt a presidential system, including the cooperation between the AK Party and MHP at the Parliament and the constitutional referendum, which will be held in 2017.

Turkey’s Proposed Presidential System: An Assessment of Context and Criticisms

Sat, 01 Oct 2016 14:45:00 GMT

Debates over presidential, semi-presidential and parliamentary government systems have continued unabated in Turkey for almost 50 years. However, the future of Turkey’s system of government no longer constitutes a ground for theoretical argument, but, rather, is a political reality shaping the agenda of the country. This commentary proposes a historical examination of the debates and also aims to present a clear perspective on the nature of the present ground of debate over the presidential system.

The Odyssey of the Turkish Constitutional Court into the World of Individual Application

Sat, 01 Oct 2016 14:55:00 GMT

Since the introduction of the individual application as a constitutional remedy, the Turkish Constitutional Court, which traditionally dealt with constitutional review of laws, constitutional amendments and political party dissolution cases, has embarked on the road towards transforming itself into a more effective rights adjudication body. It should be, however, kept in mind that this remedy is not, in and of itself, a magic panacea that will address Turkey’s ingrained human rights problems.

The Internationalization of Higher Education in Turkey: Realities, Motivations and Opportunities

Sat, 01 Oct 2016 15:03:00 GMT

The internationalization of higher education constitutes one of the essential components that countries pursue. As economic growth and qualified higher education are directly related, many countries in the global competitive environment are re-evaluating their higher education systems. After a brief examination of the situation in the world, this commentary focuses specifically in the Turkish case. It argues that Turkey has taken strategic steps in recent years to strengthen the internationalization of its higher education system. In this regard, the paper will deal with the main challenges and future possibilities for the Turkish education system.

Cornerstones of July 15: Women Who Are More Powerful than Tanks

Sat, 01 Oct 2016 15:15:00 GMT

Public reaction to the coup attempt in Turkey on July15, 2016, organized by members of a terrorist organization in the Turkish Army received a wide coverage in the Western media. This coverage however failed to reflect the pulse of the streets and the active presence of women from every segment of society in protests. This commentary argues that the ethnocentric and biased coverage of the events by the Western media, their ignorance and negligence of the heroic struggle of women against the coup attempt is a result of feminist orientalism that portrays Eastern women as oppressed, submissive and incapable of taking their own decision and act upon it.

Government Systems, Party Politics, and Institutional Engineering in the Round

Sat, 01 Oct 2016 15:34:00 GMT

Countries often debate the issue of constitutional reform. Typically, such debates focus on whether a country should have a presidential, semi-presidential, or parliamentary system of government. The advantages and disadvantages of each of these systems are now very well-known. However, it is important to move beyond the simple headline debate about the respective pros and cons of each system. This is because the operation of all three systems of government is conditioned by both the party political context in which they operate and the specific powers that are given to actors in the executive and legislative branch of government. This means that when considering constitutional reform, it is important to think about the specific context in which the reform will be introduced and the totality of changes that are being considered.

Political Parties, the Political System and Turkey

Sat, 01 Oct 2016 15:43:00 GMT

Even though they are not the sole forms of organization in a democratic system, political parties constitute the most effective bodies of people’s will. A large volume of empirical research has been conducted for a concrete clarification of the cyclical relationship between the types of election system, political party system and political system. This paper aims to examine this relationship by focusing on different states, with a special focus on Turkey. It is argued that the more democratic a political system is, the more democratically political parties will have to function, and that the higher the eagerness of political parties to function democratically, the more the democratic capacity of a political system will expand.

The Constitutional Amendment Draft: The End of Debates on Change in the Turkish Political System?

Sat, 01 Oct 2016 15:54:00 GMT

Debate over the government system has occupied Turkey’s political and constitutional agenda for many years. Yet the discussions that have taken place have not, until very recently, progressed beyond the level of popular discourse. In the last quarter of 2016, however, the possibility has emerged of debating the government system in a concrete way through the proposal of a constitutional amendment. This proposal, the product of negotiations between the AK Party and MHP, seems to be elaborated on a design that considers the interplay of presidential systems in relation to legislative, executive, and judiciary powers. In this article, the basic features of the proposed government system are addressed in comparison with various examples from around the world.

Reconsidering the Presidential System in Turkey

Sat, 01 Oct 2016 16:05:00 GMT

Debates on the system of government have been on the political agenda in Turkey since the 1960s, gaining momentum in recent years. Disengagement from the parliamentary system began with the election of the 12th President of Turkey by popular vote in 2014. To this end, the ruling AK Party and the MHP submitted a proposal to Parliament on December 10, 2016 to amend the Constitution. This article aims to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of a presidential system for Turkey. As the debate unfolds, examining fully the pros and cons of a presidential system is vitally important.

Kazakh and Russian History and Its Geopolitical Implications

Sat, 01 Oct 2016 16:14:00 GMT

In 2015, Kazakhstan celebrated 550 years of Kazakh statehood. The extraordinary interest in these events, both among Kazakh officials and some members of the international community, has a clear political message. It underscores Kazakhstan’s independence from Russia regardless of Kazakhstan’s entering the Eurasian Union in 2015. The celebration also underscores the fact that the borders of present-day Kazakhstan have historical roots and are not just a recent “gift” from Russia. Some Russians living in Kazakhstan, and even some ethnic Kazakhs, protested the 2015 interpretation of Kazakhstan history and the relationship it implies between Kazakhstan and Russia. Ironically, Moscow provided no help for these protestors, and actually helped Astana deal with the Russian Nationalists. The reason was simple: the rise of Russian Nationalism could create problems not just for Astana but also for Moscow.

The New NATO: Prepared for Russian Hybrid Warfare?

Sat, 01 Oct 2016 16:24:00 GMT

The Ukrainian crisis altered the security paradigm in Europe by forcing NATO to revise its stance towards Russia, as it employed a wide array of military and non-military tools and tactics called “hybrid warfare.” To counter Russian hybrid warfare in future, the NATO Alliance implemented functional and structural changes known the Readiness Action Plan (RAP) and endorsed the New Strategy on Hybrid Warfare. This paper will study Russian hybrid warfare activities and the preparedness of an Alliance shaped by the RAP and the New Strategy on Hybrid Warfare. It discusses whether this new NATO will be able to deter Russia from resorting to hybrid warfare against a NATO ally. While the Alliance has enhanced its military capabilities to a great extent, the Allies’ ability to achieve consensus on a response is the factor most likely to deter and dissuade Russia from engaging in hybrid warfare.

Iran’s Ballistic Missile Program: A New Case for Engaging Iran?

Sat, 01 Oct 2016 16:38:00 GMT

Much like Iran’s nuclear program, scholars and policy makers are largely puzzled to understand Iran’s intentions in developing its ballistic missile program. The aim of this study is to understand Iran’s objectives in developing its ballistic missiles arsenal. To fulfill this objective, the article reviews the entire history of Iran’s ballistic missile program. It hypothesizes that just like its nuclear program, Iran developed its ballistic missiles arsenal as a strategy of deterrence, a response to Iraq’s invasion and Washington’s policy of containment. The second hypothesis held that Iran’s determination to continue developing its ballistic missile program might be an attempt to dissuade its rivals from exercising power in the Middle East.

A Necessary Void in International Relations: Non-State Actors in the Middle East

Sat, 01 Oct 2016 16:54:00 GMT

There has been a dramatic expansion in the size, scope and capacity of non-state actors around the globe in the last three decades. Providing social services, implementing development programs, participating in international conflicts, non-state actors have played important roles, especially in regions where the government presence is weak. The Middle East is rife with both important humanitarian non-state actors delivering social services as a complement to government action and violent non-state actors operating outside domestic law and international norms. The commonality in both examples is the way in which the non-state actors establish private authorities in the spaces where state sovereignty is weak or absent, and legitimate it in terms of identity, religion, services provided or nothing but violence. This leaves numerous questions to be answered.

The State of Savagery: ISIS in Syria

Sat, 01 Oct 2016 17:19:00 GMT

What is the ontology of ISIS? Ulutaş takes this central question as the linchpin of his study in which he keeps a keen eye on the group’s evolution, ranging from its historical-ideological roots to its operational transformation and positioning toward other conflicting parties in the region. While placing the ISIS phenomenon into the framework of violent non-state actors (VNSA), Ulutaş discusses to what extent ISIS poses a challenge to the Westphalian system today. Dividing ISIS’ development into two phases, he focuses on the second, namely on the turning point which highlights the group’s expansion to Syrian soil.

The Struggle for Influence in the Middle East: The Arab Uprisings and Foreign Assistance

Sat, 01 Oct 2016 17:19:00 GMT

The book reviewed here is one of the most beneficial examples of studies made on Foreign Assistance to the Middle East, especially for researchers who are intrigued by the question of whether or not the Arab Uprisings made an impact on the preceding trends in foreign assistance to the region. The book includes ten chapters which deal with the most important aspects of the topic. The most salient case studies seem to be Tunisia and Egypt as the recipient countries with U.S., EU and Turkey having their own chapters in terms of elaborating the debate in these examples. The Gulf Cooperation Council seems to be the structure investing the most in the Middle East before and after the Arab Uprisings and according to Heydemann, this regional assistance dwarfs both U.S. and EU aid together (p. 24). Although the chapters purport to be different from each other, since the focus is recipient countries, some chapters overlap with each other.

The Two-state Solution: The UN Partition Resolution of Mandatory Palestine – Analysis and Sources

Sat, 01 Oct 2016 17:19:00 GMT

Ruth Gavison edited a book which was brought together as a result of the founding conference of the Metzilah Center. The reviewed book brilliantly analyses various aspects of the UN Partition Resolution of Mandatory Palestine. The book is divided in two parts and provides a valuable key to understanding the historical context of the UN partition resolution including the history of Zionism, struggle of Jews for their homeland and Palestinian position towards the partition. Both parts of the book are well connected; analyses in the first part directly refer to documents and speeches which compose the second part of the book, and thus facilitate understanding of the topics related to the partition of Mandate Palestine.

An Intellectual History of Turkish Nationalism: Between Turkish Ethnicity and Islamic Identity

Sat, 01 Oct 2016 17:30:00 GMT

With An Intellectual History of Turkish Nationalism, Umut Uzer addresses a gap in the English-language scholarly literature on Turkey. Uzer, associate professor at İstanbul Technical University educated in both Turkey and the U.S., has written a history of Turkish nationalism in all its diverse manifestations from its genesis in the late 19thcentury to the present day. Uzer’s is a topic as yet unaddressed in monograph form in English, though nationalism has been a central theme in several recent historical surveys of modern Turkey.

The Circassian Diaspora in Turkey: A Political History

Sat, 01 Oct 2016 17:30:00 GMT

This book is the long-expected first book on the politics and history of the Circassian diaspora in Turkey in English that covers an ambitious time frame, ranging from the last period of the Ottoman Empire to 2011. Besleney not only brought in the advantages of having an insider understanding of culture, he also did field work in various countries, where the Circassian diaspora communities are located, i.e. Turkey, the U.S., Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Adyghea, and Abkhazia. Therefore, this work is a unique contribution to diaspora studies and Circassian studies, as well as Turkish and post-Soviet studies. In this “political history,” Besleney largely provides a history of ethnic organizations founded by the Circassians in Turkey, and their relations with the hostland and homeland organizations.

Everyday Lived Islam in Europe

Sat, 01 Oct 2016 17:30:00 GMT

There is a substantial body of literature on Muslims and Islam in Europe, which largely focuses on institutionalized forms of Islam such as social movements or issues pertaining to discrimination and integration. Everyday Lived Islam in Europe, however, is a significant edited volume that advances and promotes an “everyday” approach to study Muslims and Islam in Europe. The volume concentrates on the study of “everyday” aspects of religion as lived by ordinary people, people who do not rely on the support of any particular religious group. Contributors of the volume seek to explore the less-institutional and less visible dimensions of Islam in Europe through ethnography; that is, they aim to shed light on different forms of religiosity, the ways in which Islam shapes Muslims’ everyday life in societal domains (i.e. schools, shops), how new technologies impact the relationship between Islamic knowledge and authority and ‘how religion operates within these and plays out across them in the life trajectories of individuals’ (p. 2). Everyday Lived Islam in Europe is an important collection of essays that can make a significant contribution to the contemporary studies of Muslims and Islam in Europe.

Global South to the Rescue: Emerging Humanitarian Superpowers and Globalizing Rescue Industries

Sat, 01 Oct 2016 17:30:00 GMT

The volume edited by Paul Amar critically analyzes the role that the Global South is thought to play (or not play) in the humanitarian domain. The contributors bring in examples from different parts of the world to criticize two sets of approaches: (i) the conventional Eurocentric approach that portrays the Global South only at the receiving end of the humanitarian missions and; (ii) the more critical approach that sees the increasing involvement of the Global South in humanitarian missions as a testament of how the problems embedded in liberal global governance are slowly being erased. Instead, the contributors first illustrate that changing the ethnic, racial or gender composition of humanitarian missions does not necessarily result in overcoming the problems embedded in these missions or in the general working of global governance. Second, the volume also highlights that while it is important to take the Global South’s agency seriously in the humanitarian domain, such agency should be analyzed critically with an eye on the dynamics and intentions of these countries’ involvements rather than romanticizing them.

Social Unrest and American Military Bases in Turkey and Germany Since 1945

Sat, 01 Oct 2016 17:42:00 GMT

Holmes’ Social Unrest and American Military Bases is a comparative study of anti-American bases social movements that emerged in Turkey and Germany during the Cold War and continued after. The author explores the emergence and causes of these movements against U.S. military presence in two frontline NATO allies, how the U.S. responded to these movements, and which tactics these movements resorted to, in order to accomplish their objectives. In doing so she does a commendable job of blending international relations and social movements literature to better understand the domestic and international conditions under which the perception of an American military presence went from ‘legitimate protector’ to ‘giving harm’ to Turkish and German security and sovereignty, that it was initially supposed to protect.

Conflict and Peace in Central Eurasia: Towards Explanations and Understandings

Sat, 01 Oct 2016 17:42:00 GMT

Conflict and Peace in Central Eurasia: Towards Explanations and Understandings tests a hypothesis that a mosaic type of ethno-geographic configuration in combination with other factors is an important condition in explaining the occurrence of ethno-territorial conflicts. Babak Rezvani analyzes a dataset of ethno-territorial encounters in the former Soviet Central Asia, the Caucasus and the region of Fereydan in central Iran during the period of perestroika and glasnost (p. 3). He accounts for these encounters with an array of features derived from social science theory and the geographical characteristics of regions thus making a contribution to the literature on international studies.

China’s Foreign Policy

Sat, 01 Oct 2016 17:42:00 GMT

In his book China’s Foreign Policy, Stuart Harris, a Professor Emeritus at the Australian National University, provides insight into China’s foreign policy behavior and its motivations focusing on major changes and continuities since 1949.