Ian Lesser, GMF Analysis, 30 June 2010
30 June 2010
Ninth meeting of the Accession Conference at Ministerial level with Turkey
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Council of the European Union, Brussels, 30 June 2010
Opened negotiations on Chapter 12 (Food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy) of the acquis.
Council of the European Union, Brussels, 30 June 2010
Opened negotiations on Chapter 12 (Food safety, veterinary and phytosanitary policy) of the acquis.
29 June 2010
An Evaluation of the Recent Proposal Aiming to Improve Conditions of "Children Throwing Stones to Security Forces" by Amending Certain Statutes
27 June 2010
26 June 2010
25 June 2010
24 June 2010
Increasing Acts of Terrorism and Measures Taken by the Government [Turkish only]
Sedat Laçiner, USAK Makale, 24 June 2010
Original title: Artan Terör Olayları ve Hükümetin Aldığı Önlemler
The Constitutional Court and HSYK in Constitutions and Various Recommendations [Turkish only]
Original title: Anayasalarda ve Değişiklik Önerilerinde AYM ve HSYK
HSYK is the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors.
HSYK is the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors.
23 June 2010
Axis Shift in Turkish Foreign Policy [Turkish only]
Kürşad Turan, Ortadoğu Analiz 2, no. 18, ORSAM, 23 June 2010
Original title: Türk Dış Politikasında Eksen Kayması
22 June 2010
The Time for Action, Not for Hopelessness [Turkish only]
Read onlineÖzdem Sanberk, USAK Makale, 22 June 2010
Original title: Umutsuzluk Değil Dayanışma Zamanı
21 June 2010
18 June 2010
17 June 2010
All Children Have Rights: End Unfair Prosecutions of Children Under Anti-Terrorism Legislation in Turkey
16 June 2010
15 June 2010
14 June 2010
11 June 2010
Barzani in Ankara: Normalization of Relations, Distancing from PKK
09 June 2010
Talking Turkey about Turkey
Read onlineLeon Hadar, Cato Institute, 9 June 2010
In the midst of a flurry of policy briefs and commentaries on the Gaza flotilla crisis and the new regional order it heralds, Hadar's article is a refreshing reality check for the most part. Warning academics and journalists to avoid the "broad brush" when hastily painting new narratives to explain current events, he gives some needed background on Turkey's relations with Israel and its overall role in the region, debunking the widespread idea that Turkey is an Islamic fundamentalist regime aimed at rebuilding the Ottoman Empire. He also points out the hypocrisy of some US policymakers who are now fear mongering about the AKP and Turkey after praising them for the past eight years.
Hadar concludes:
This last sentence is certainly true. But I don't see a huge risk for this issue-based conflict to evolve into an identity one, much less anything on the "civilizational scale." While Turkish public opinion is outspokenly opposed to the policies and actions of the Israeli government, it seems to stop there: there is little new support for anti-Semitic sentiments or movements against the existence of Israel, though their existing supporters may have grown louder....The current crisis also demonstrated the need on the part of the Israelis and the Turks to refrain from turning these policy disagreements into a wide-ranging "civilizational" conflict. Israel needs to recognize and support Turkey's determination to play a more activist diplomatic role and take advantage of it and refrain from trying to demonize Turkey as an Islamofascist entity. At the end of the day, Israel has more at stake than Turkey in repairing the bilateral relations between Ankara and Jerusalem.
I'm not sure where Hadar is getting this 'New Middle East' concept or who has been pushing that particular narrative, but it sounds much more American than Turkish to me. And who are these "new fans" of Turkey supposed to be? I don't know about them, but according to the polls of the PewResearchCenter, Turks are more likely to say that their country is disliked around the world than to say it's liked -- in fact, they are the only nationality besides Americans to do so. While nationalism is alive and well in Turkey, so is disillusionment and pragmatism; Hadar's warnings about the nation's limitations would not fall on deaf or naive ears.At the same time, Erdogan and the AKP should understand that that Turkey does not have the capability to serve as an all powerful regional hegemon, and that any attempt to move in that direction will ignite anti-Turkey backlash from regional and global players. In any case, trying to serve as a mediator between the Israelis and the Arabs could prove to be a difficult and thankless job — if not a mission impossible — as the Americans and other powers have already discovered, and that trying to compensate for their diplomatic weakness by displaying Islamist bravado could backfire against the Turks and will certainly not accelerate the establishment of a New Middle East anytime soon. In short, Turkey is not as threatening as its detractors warn nor as powerful as many Turks and their new fans believe.
08 June 2010
07 June 2010
04 June 2010
Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government's President Massoud Barzani's Speech at ORSAM
ORSAM Events, 4 June 2010
In his speech, Barzani reiterated his commitment to nonviolence and the unity of Iraq. When asked about the PKK and cooperative counter-terrorism efforts between Iraq and Turkey he gave no direct answer, instead praising the Turkish government's largely undefined and ineffective 'Kurdish opening' policy. Mr. Barzani stated that the Iraqi Kurds would not ally themselves with the Shias in any attempt to politically marginalize the Sunnis, or vice versa. He offered no information on the planned free trade zone between Turkey and the KRG.
03 June 2010
Managing a More Assertive Turkey
Read online
Bernard Gwertzman, Council on Foreign Relations, 3 June 2010
An interview with Stephen Larrabee.
Bernard Gwertzman, Council on Foreign Relations, 3 June 2010
An interview with Stephen Larrabee.
01 June 2010
The aftermath of Israel's raid on the Gaza aid flotilla: Is Turkey a new rogue state?
Daniel Steinvorth, EUISS Opinion, June 2010