[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Turkey and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Turkey Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You can send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week`s roundup to turkey@jadaliyya.com by Sunday night of every week.]
English
The AKP’s “New Turkey”
This Is the New Turkey Examining the AKP’s democratization attempts since 2002, Bülent Keneş writes, “After the many ordeals we suffered and the long, hard process of democratization, we have arrived at a situation which is not much different from that archaic regime.” Keneş also examines The New Media Order of the New Turkey.
Media Independence in the New Turkey A comprehensive analysis and two reports on the strict control over free and independent media in Turkey, particularly in the wake of the Gezi Park protests.
Where Are We? Orhan Kemal Cengiz reflects on Turkey’s achievements in the last ten years in terms of the proliferation of human rights.
US Shutdown Versus Gezi Protests, Obama Versus Erdogan Verda Özer compares Obama’s inclusive tone after the US federal shutdown with the extremely polarizing rhetoric of Erdoğan after the Gezi uprising.
An Advanced Democratic Snapshot Yusuf Kanlı writes about the polarizing policies of the AKP government towards a privileged Sunni citizen while ignoring the demands of Alevis, and suppressing the peaceful student demonstrations in METU with police violence.
Step by Step, Back to Bad Old Days Yavuz Baydar points to the increasing control and censorship over free media and freedom of expression in Turkey.
Kemalo-Islamism in Full Speed İhsan Yılmaz argues that contemporary politics is a result of the emergence of Kemalo-Islamism, a new ideology which is the fusion of Turkish Islamism with Kemalism.
A Local(less) Election Introducing Taksim Platform’s manifesto, Cengiz Aktar draws attention to the importance of local and regional elections in 2014.
Civil Society in Erdogan`s World: Modern Bandits Although the government is so proud of the recent EU progress report, Serkan Demirtaş says Turkey is still far from meeting the Copenhagen criteria, particularly in the wake of the Gezi protests and their follow-ups.
How Gezi Protests "Unmasked" Turkey? Burak Bekdil argues that “the West ‘woke up to know’ how the government polarized the country” only after the Gezi uprising, though these problems have a long history.
Restrained Reaction to EU Progress Report Sedat Ergin analyzes the AKP government`s changing attitude toward the EU Progress Report by putting forward the positive sides of it.
Turkey`s Gradual Revolution Ertan Aydın, the senior adviser to Prime Minister Erdoğan, claims that “in a region riven by ethnic and sectarian cleavages, as well as conflicting political projects, Erdoğan’s style of democratic reform offers a less radical—but ultimately more effective—option.”
The Balyoz Cleaning “The psychological and ideological venue for the rebuilding of the republic was cleansed” with the Balyoz trial, claims Etyen Mahcupyan.
Gezi and METU Uprisings
Two Thousand Three Hundred and Eighty Trees Suat Kınıklıoğlu argues that the controversy in METU is much more than just a disagreement between a university and a mayor over a road project.
Why Turks are Fighting Over Trees? Mustafa Akyol shows that the recent controversy on the Middle East Technical University (METU) campus over a construction project is reminiscent of Gezi Park.
Prestige Bestowed by Gezi Şükrü Küçükşahin comments on the links between the EU’s Progress Report and the suppression of the Gezi Park and METU protests.
Encounter Markar Esayan argues that the Gezi protests have the potential to depolarize society, but “wastes this opportunity because of revolutionism, activism, and a form of late-puberty fantasies.”
Peace Process
Öcalan: Second Phase Should Be Deeper and More Comprehensive Abdullah Öcalan’s latest remarks on the peace process.
Turkey`s Democratization Package and the Kurdish Quandary Hüseyin Alptekin and Mine Tafolar analyze the AKP’s “democratization packages” in relation to the problems and demands raised by the Kurdish movement.
Turkey`s Kurdish Peace Effort at Crossroads Orhan Kemal Cengiz analyzes the different factors endangering the peace process.
Foreign Policy
Why Turkey Needs Conspiracy Theories? İhsan Dağı addresses the reasons why the government in Turkey needs conspiracy theories, especially during and aftermath the Gezi Park protests.
From Rhetoric to Reality: Reframing US Turkey Policy Prepared under the editorship of former US ambassadors to Turkey Morton Abramowitz and Eric Edelman, this report draws a guideline for the changing patterns in the US foreign policy toward Turkey.
Who`s Out to Get Turkey`s Spymaster? Semih İdiz argues that the international pressure on Turkish Intelligence head Hakan Fidan may be a sign of concern over a shift in Erdoğan’s policies toward Syria and Iran.
Arab Streets not Turkish Playground Commenting on the release of two Turkish pilots after seventy-one days of being held hostage in Lebanon, Murat Yetkin argues that Syria is no longer a playground for Turkish diplomacy.
Is Turkish Foreign Policy Successful? Evaluating the details of the release of the Turkish pilots, Yusuf Kanlı argues there ought to be nothing to celebrate about the capability of Turkish foreign policy.
Turkey Fires at Al-Qaeda in Syria Nihat Ali Özcan unpacks the symbolic meaning of Turkey’s first direct and targeted fire on the al-Qaeda-linked Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).
Turkey Readjusts North Syria Strategy Sami Kohen argues that the firing of artillery rounds by the Turkish army at the ISIS was a consequence of international accusations.
How to Rise Above a Regional Quagmire? “Is it possible for Turkey, linked by more than thirty multinational bodies to the West, to shape a balanced regional policy?” Yavuz Baydar asks.
Turkey: The Self-Fulfilling Prophecy of the Hakan Fidan Story Cengiz Çandar analyzes the recent reports and accusations about Turkey published in the international media.
Turkey in a New Middle East Analyzing the contemporary politics in the Middle East following the “Arab Spring,” Murat Yetkin argues that the government must change its ideology-based politics.
Fears of Fraying US-Turkey Ties An interview with Steven Cook about the future of Turkey’s relations and potential alignment with the US in the wake of the US’s refusal of military intervention in Syria.
Is Turkey Being Excluded from the Middle East Equation? According to Fuat Keyman, Turkey must take active steps to recover its negative image prevailing in the West, which excludes it from the Middle East equation.
Economy
The EU Progress Report`s Economic Criticisms Erdal Sağlam draws attention to the criticisms of the EU’s Turkey Progress Report about the fragilities of the Turkish economy, primarily the current account deficits.
Other Pertinent Pieces
Quo Vadis Istanbul? Riada Asimovic argues that Istanbul’s future development and urban politics are not only tied to a future vision, but also to the memories of the past.
How Has Urban Transformation Transformed the Lives of the Roma in Turkey? Orhan Kemal Cengiz presents the deteriorating effects of urban transformation projects in Turkey on the lives of the Roma.
Hasankeyf: Civilization Condemned to Death Fehim Taştekin writes about the dam project, approved in 1982 and accelerated by the AKP government in 2006, which demolishes Hasankeyf, a major juncture along the Silk Road hosting twelve-thousand-year-old historical monuments from various civilizations.
Turkey`s Online "Halal" Sex Shop Draws Ridicule, Criticism Barın Kayaoğlu comments on the media coverage and responses about Turkey’s first online halal sex shop.
Turkish
Peace Process
Öcalan: Süreç biter! Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan says he expects an answer from the state, and if he is not provided with an answer, he would assume the peace process is over.
Hükümetin yerinde olsam ben de BDP`den kurtulmak isterdim Ezgi Başaran interviews Selahattin Demirtaş, co-chair of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), on the course of the peace process.
Çözüm süreci bitti mi? “The settlement process is not yet over; nonetheless, the ties between addressees are about to break,” says Eyüp Can.
Eğer gerçekten Kürtlerle savaş değil barış isteniyorsa… Cengiz Çandar comments on the course of the peace process.
Yeni müesses nizamın BDP sorunu Yetvart Danzikyan says “the AKP and Erdoğan have not yet adopted a ‘negotiation’ mentality; they still act in the mood of forgivingness.”
Barış oyalamaya gelmez! Mete Çubukçu emphasizes that “peace can not be stalled.”
Kürt sorununda neredeyiz? Evaluating Abdullah Öcalan and the KCK’s latest remarks on the peace process, Doğu Ergil says peace can not be made unilaterally.
‘Ben Kürt olsaydım’... Cafer Solgun argues that the KCK’s latest statement in regard to the “democratization package” forces the government to clarify and deepen its “settlement process.”
`Süreç bitti` diyenler ne istiyor? Yalçın Akdoğan, Erdoğan’s chief political adviser, criticizes those who contend that the peace process is over, including Kurdish leaders.
Çözüm sürecinin bitme ihtimalini sevenlere dair Yasin Akay claims that leftists in Turkey are happy due to the possibility of the peace process being halted.
AKP, BDP, HDP I - II Arguing that the AKP is losing its ingenuity, Nazan Üstündağ says the People’s Democracy Party (HDP) is a strategic alliance between the Kurdish and Leftist movement.
HDP, Gezi direnişi ve yerel seçimler An interview with HDP deputy Sırrı Süreyya Önder in regard to the People’s Democracy Party, the Gezi uprising, and local elections.
Çatı Partisi? Taha Akyol criticizes the alliance between the Kurdish and Leftist movements under the umbrella of the People’s Democracy Party.
The AKP’s “New Turkey”
Yeni bir tek partili dönem ve seçilmişlerin vesayeti Military domination has passed away, yet it yields to the domination of the elected, Ergun Babahan argues.
Muhafazakarların Bağımsız Türkiye’si Nuray Mert analyzes the “new” and “independent” Turkey of the conservatives.
Bebelerin geleceğine ipotek koymayın beyler! Criticizing social engineering projects, Oya Baydar argues that "raising generations," either religious or secular, does not accord with democracy.
Muhafazakârlar devleti çok sevdi İhsan Dağı ironically suggest that “Turkey’s conservatives liked the state very much.”
Neo-Liberal Hegemonya ve Patriyarkal "Veliahtlar" Analyzing complaints about cleavage on display, Kansu Yıldırım reveals the relationship between neoliberal hegemony and patriarchy.
"Cumhuriyet"i demokrasi karşıtı "Cumhuriyetçilik"ten kurtarmak Şükrü Hanioğlu writes on “redeeming ‘the Republic’ from the anti-democratic ‘Republicanism.’”
Gezi and METU Uprisings
Gezi’nin hayaleti Commenting on the latest EU report, Soli Özel argues that the specter of Gezi is haunting Turkey and designates its image all around the world.
Gezi de böyle başlamıştı Pointing the protests against a reconstruction plan that involves uprooting a large number of trees at the Middle East Technical University (METU) campus, Yalçın Doğan reminds us that “Gezi started like this.”
Can değeri Tanıl Bora says we will not forget the "life values" of those who were killed during and after the Gezi uprising.
Yerel yönetim mi dediniz? Referring to the Gezi and METU protests, Bekir Ağırdır says Turkey’s centralist administrative structure that paves the way for local oligarchs cannot be maintained.
Gezi ve siyasetin “tarih-öncesi” biterken Revealing what "did" and "did not" happen in the Gezi uprising, Akdoğan Özkan claims “the prehistory of politics has come to an end in Turkey.”
Other Pertinent Pieces
Sünni fetvası`yla Alevi çözümü… Oral Çalışlar comments on “solving the Alevi question via Sunni fatwa.”
Bunun adı kölelik Referring to Walk Free Foundation’s Global Slavery Index 2013 and Kevin Bales’ book Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy, Pınar Öğünç draws attention to modern slavery.
Yüzyıllık düzenin sonu Proclaiming “the end of the centennial order,” Ali Bulaç asserts that “the twenty-first century has brought new problems into the question for the Islamic world.”
Published on Jadaliyya
What Is a Democratization Package Good For?
Defending Future Commons: The Gezi Experience
New Texts Out Now: H. Erdem Cipa and Emine Fetvaci, Writing History at the Ottoman Court
Baris surecinde gerekli olan ciddi bir hakikat ve telafi politikasi