What are some of the lessons learned from the EU’s experiences in Bulgaria and Romania, and what could they mean for Turkey?
The August 2014 presidential election is important not only for its own sake, but even more so for what it portends for the future of Turkish democracy.
In Turkey, Muslim groups have used the “human rights” framework to protect their religious practices, such as wearing headscarves in universities and workplaces. But what happens when the “rights” demanded by dominant religious groups contradict the rights and demands of others? A contribution to
Much of the increased trade is in effect being conducted under the radar. The construction of a major gas pipeline, on the other hand, would definitely not escape public attention.
It is a great opportunity for Turkey that former Minister of European Union Affairs Mevlut Cavusoglu became Davutoglu government’s Foreign Minister in order to restore relations with the EU and continue the accession process.
Stirring up moral anxieties over women's conduct and propriety is key to a populist discourse that pits a virtuous “us”- the people- against an immoral “them”. But despite its potential for authoritarian control of gender relations, this new populism holds many attractions for women.
The problem is that the Republican People's Party (Turkey's centre-left main political party) remains torn between the supporters of a European-style social democracy and those of a die-hard Kemalism.
Could Kurdish voices become part of the political mainstream in Turkey; and could the PKK have its status as “terrorist” removed?
Contrary to received wisdom, the “Turkish model” was not based on the entrepreneurial potential of emerging conservative businessmen of Anatolia nurtured by market reforms and the Islamic outlook of the government, but on a regulatory framework changed to allow arbitrary government intervention in
Can a new victorious president, ready to transform Turkey, sustain a Muslim modernity while bypassing the individual rights and liberties of women and gay citizens?
Turkey elected its first president through direct suffrage; so what can we expect now? It is populism that is increasingly in charge of Turkey's politics - not any one person.
Erdoğan’s authoritarian and arrogant response to protests confirms his opponents’ fears that he is seeking to make himself a strongman ruler in the mould of Vladimir Putin, who also swapped being Prime Minister for President.
