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Reports on efforts of Turkey's parliament to pass amendments to its constitution to stabilize the country's democracy and ultimately allow entrance into the European Union. Changes in legal rights of individuals; Law that gives men no higher status than women; Changes in punishments for crimes, including removal of the death penalty in most cases.

The article presents information on various political developments around the world. The U.S. President Thomas Woodrow Wilson has received a note from Turkey. But Wilson's lips have been sealed hitherto by consideration for the oppressed races exposed to wanton brutality of their Turkish rulers. The Taryba, or State Council of Lithuania, elected under the control of the German army of occupation, chose as King Duke William of Urach. But the German government has declared that Lithuania had no right to select kings without consulting Prussia, and that the Taryba had been improperly elected and did not represent the population.

The paper takes as an assumption that the EU will decide to open accession negotiations with Turkey at the end of 2004, and explores in this context the potential for integration of EU and Turkish foreign, security and defense policies already in the pre-accession period. The evolving nature of both the EU itself and Turkey as foreign policy actors is considered, with attention drawn to the effective graduations in the nature of the EU's external borders as it extends its membership and association arrangements deeper into the south-eastern periphery. Turkish capabilities are reviewed, ranging from the subjective arguments about its experience as a democratizing, secular state of largely Muslim culture, through to objective assets such as military capabilities and cultural affinities with various neighboring peoples. With the Turkish neighborhood thus becoming the EU's wider neighborhood, the paper reviews how far the EU and Turkey might be convergent in their interests and complementary in their capabilities in such regions as the Balkans, Caucasus, Middle East, and Central Asia. The paper concludes with the assessment that Turkey stands to be unambiguously an asset for the EU's external policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A biography of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is presented. He was born in 1954 in Istanbul, went to a religious school and rose to be a leader of Islamist politics in the 1980s. He became Prime Minister in 2002 when his Justice and Development Party won majority seats in the parliament, moved to the presidency in 2014 and emerged victorious from a coup attempt on July 15, 2016. It discusses his faith, foreign policy and crackdown of the opposition after the failed coup.

Turkish-US relations arguably reached its highest point in 1999, highlighted by President Clinton's five-day visit to Turkey in November of the same year. A very strong argument can be made today that in a period of five years, Turkish-US relations have reached a low point, perhaps the lowest in decades. This paper analyzes how Turkey and the US got to this low point, with anecdotes, relating concrete cases and highlighting examples of mismanagement and bad judgment by both Turkey and the US. The past and present relations are compared on multiple dimensions with a critical yet constructive perspective, drawing conclusions on how to move forward, albeit incrementally and within the framework of a new paradigm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turkey has been adopting a more European perspective on a number of issues for some time; it should come as no surprise that its foreign policy will become more closely aligned with that of Paris and Berlin over the course of accession negotiations. The Atlantic divide has proven not to be a transient phenomenon and this makes it very difficult for Turkey to maintain close relations with the US and pursue EU membership on complementary tracks. The EU emerges as a civilian superpower with a wide range of soft power tools to exert its influence on global affairs; it also offers a relatively benign image of the West. The US, on the other hand, continues to lose prestige and credibility on the world scene despite its overwhelming military might. This paper argues that Turkey stands to gain more from aligning with the European position in world affairs and it is timely for Turkey to redefine its "strategic partnership" with the US. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent developments in US-Turkey relations, especially with regard to Turkish public opinion, have attracted the attention of decision makers. Sparked by the findings of some public opinion polls, the media has engaged in a discussion of the "anti-Americanism" of the Turkish public. This paper aims to elaborate the attitudes of the Turkish public towards the US, using the findings of several public opinion polls conducted recently. Polls show that anti-Americanism has increased in recent years, probably as a result of the Iraqi War and foreign policy conducted by the Bush administration. Nevertheless, this attitude is accompanied by an appreciation of the American way of life. Such a complex situation emphasizes the fact that much more effort must be exerted to understand this previously forgotten element: the element of public opinion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors argue that the EU's decision about Turkey's readiness for the full accession negotiations at the end of 2004 will shape the future course of Turkish democracy and modernity as well as the formation of European identity. This paper's general argument is that the principle of fairness and objectivity should be the basis of the EU's decision about Turkey, rather than the culturalist and essentialist discourses of Europe which privilege religion and geography over the universal norms of democracy and liberal economy. The principle of fairness implies that the decision about Turkey should be universal and impartial. The norms of universality and impartiality indicate that the decision about Turkey would be fair as long as it is not framed by a reference to Turkey's Muslim population or its geography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turkey has been adopting a more European perspective on a number of issues for some time; it should come as no surprise that its foreign policy will become more closely aligned with that of Paris and Berlin over the course of accession negotiations. The Atlantic divide has proven not to be a transient phenomenon and this makes it very difficult for Turkey to maintain close relations with the US and pursue EU membership on complementary tracks. The EU emerges as a civilian superpower with a wide range of soft power tools to exert its influence on global affairs; it also offers a relatively benign image of the West. The US, on the other hand, continues to lose prestige and credibility on the world scene despite its overwhelming military might. This paper argues that Turkey stands to gain more from aligning with the European position in world affairs and it is timely for Turkey to redefine its "strategic partnership" with the US. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent developments in US-Turkey relations, especially with regard to Turkish public opinion, have attracted the attention of decision makers. Sparked by the findings of some public opinion polls, the media has engaged in a discussion of the "anti-Americanism" of the Turkish public. This paper aims to elaborate the attitudes of the Turkish public towards the US, using the findings of several public opinion polls conducted recently. Polls show that anti-Americanism has increased in recent years, probably as a result of the Iraqi War and foreign policy conducted by the Bush administration. Nevertheless, this attitude is accompanied by an appreciation of the American way of life. Such a complex situation emphasizes the fact that much more effort must be exerted to understand this previously forgotten element: the element of public opinion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On the eve of the EU Copenhagen Summit, human rights seem to be playing the key role in determining Turkey's relationship with the European Union. One can argue that this issue only confirms a historical trend. Over the past 200 years of modernization, Europe has been the prime catalyst in Turkey's quest for democratization and human rights. However, although Turkey has moved closer to Europe in the last two decades, its record on human rights continued to pose a problem, mainly due to Ankara's realpolitik approach, marked by concessions on paper with a view to serve State interests rather than freedoms granted for their own sake. Nevertheless, even though these steps have been mainly oriented towards accomodation with Western values, they have gradually created a political environment wherein civil society can inject some momentum to the state policies, irrespective of external factors. The implementation of rights, however, has always lagged behind legislation, and the Turkish Government is faced again with the task of gaining credibility over its recent comprehensive reform package by implementing it integrally and rapidly. This essay attempts to sketch the itinerary of Turkey-EU relations as regards the human rights factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports that the Turkish government has broken all economic and diplomatic ties with Germany in spite of a long German propaganda. The propaganda did half the work of keeping Turkey out of the war. It failed utterly to influence Turkey to come in on the German side as it did in World War I. But it is doubtful if the propaganda would have succeeded even -as well as it did had it not been for the course of military events. As allied victories mounted and the military threat on three sides receded, and as our own propaganda improved, the Turks moved toward the break with Germany that was probably inevitable from the beginning.

Since the 1999 launch of EU candidate country status, EU–Turkey relations have reached a new level of closer engagement. Across time, the relations demonstrate different levels of engagement and, accordingly, different narratives. Regarding the Turkish narratives of the EU, the EU is framed across time as follows: EU as a democratic anchor; EU as a disappointment; EU as an untrustworthy entity; EU as an enemy. As seen, Turkish narratives demonstrate a trend from EU-phoria to EU-phobia. In the end, it is important that EU–Turkey relations and Turkish narratives on the EU are not immune to domestic developments, especially those shaped by populist politics in the last two decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Focuses on the Greece-Turkey program of the U.S. Opinion of Senator Edwin Johnson on the U.S. foreign policy toward Turkey and Greece; Details of the military requirements of Turkey; Discussion of the effectiveness of Turkish army against the Russians; Information on the Red Army mountain brigades, which so distinguished themselves against the Germans and Rumanian mountain divisions in the Caucasus and Carpathians.

This article discusses the matter related to international politics. Russia's restaurant of its treaty of friendship with Turkey and its promise of complete neutrality should Turkey be attacked and obliged to enter the war, represents another cautious but significant-move by Moscow to check `the German advance towards the Dardanelles. In consenting to the passage through the blockade of two ships laden with flour for France the British government seems to have been motivated chiefly by a desire to please Washington. Its position is that this shipment is exceptional and that the policy of including unoccupied France within the blockaded area must continue.

Points out that the Russian dream is the possession of Constantinople, in the same way that Englishmen dream of India. Dream of planting the cross once more on St. Sophia and to wear the purple in New Rome; Observation that the Russian liberals are deeply absorbed in the Constantinople dream as the most reactionary of the Slavophils; Russians' view that the road to Constantinople lies through Berlin.

The author examines friend and researcher Cağan Şekercioğlu and the natural history work he is doing in Kars, Turkey. Topics include the history of the region surrounding Kars, shifts in political and governmental powers linked with Russia, and efforts to establish a bird-banding station in Aras, near the Turkish-Armenian border.

The article offers information on the taxation deal between governments of Bahrain and Turkey. It states that Turkey used a different approach on this agreement which covers all subjects in double taxation. It also discusses some part of the Exchange of Information on Tax Matters by Organization for Economic Cooperation and Developments (OECD). It concludes that to cover this legal gap, notes of Model Convention is usable prior to the purpose of the agreement.

The author reflects on the logic of the international relation policy of Turkey. The author discusses the decision of the Turkish government to vote against the Iranian sanctions package. The author also explains the Turkish-Brazilian fuel swap offer which prompted the Turkish government to reject the sanctions package. It is noted that the Turkish position on its diplomacy with Iran and provocation toward Israel serves as evidence that the country is being controlled by the Islamic crypto-fundamentalists.

This article asserts that the U.S. lost an important, courageous friend with the death of Turkey's President Turgut Özal. Özal skillfully brought democracy back to his country after the military coup in 1980. He wrenched Turkey away from a debilitating, statist tradition by introducing the free-market reforms of privatization and lower taxes. His only economic mistake was not ignoring IMF inflationary advice. Western statesmen tended to give Özal short shrift, to underestimate Turkey's importance. The European Community, for example, has contemptuously pigeon- holed Turkey's application for membership.

The article reports that the Syrian government has accused Turkey of turning a blind eye to the systematic looting and destruction of its cultural property, including the smuggling of hundreds of objects by Turkish looters. One particular problem has been illegal digging at various archaeological sites, such as at the ancient city of Dura-Europos.

Reports on the growing ties between Israel and Turkey. Changes in the regional balance of power; Background on military cooperation agreements between the two countries; Trade issues; Views of Turkey's Muslim Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan and Israeli Defense Minister Yitzhak Mordechai; Fears and concerns expressed by the neighboring country of Syria.