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Interviews with "Zaman" and "Today's Zaman" columnist Joost Lagendijk and Atilim University professor Levent Köker are presented. The topics discussed include vicissitudes in Turkish democracy, their assessment of Turkish democracy, and how the controversies over Kobane and the Islamic State have affected Turkey's image abroad. Köker also compares Turkey's culture of democracy as of January 1, 2015 with that twenty years before.

The article evaluates the potential of Turkish democracy to be mature and inclusive. The topics discussed include the determinants of democratic maturity, including strong representation of the people in policy-making processes, and social empathy, the three levels of democratic maturity that include consensus democracy, and the evolution of democracy in Turkey. The author's conclusion on the level of Turkish democracy and what it will take to raise this level is presented.

The article reviews reports on the connection between Turkey's backtracking on democracy and the stalling of the European Union process. The topics discussed include the European Commisssion's 2014 Turkey Report, Carnegie Europe's report attributing the stalled process to the Turkish government's authoritarian tendencies, and an article published by Instituto Affari Internazionali highlighting deficiencies in the Turkish democracy.

Copyright of Hacettepe University Journal of Economics & Administrative Sciences / Hacettepe Üniversitesi Iktisadi ve Idari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi is the property of Hacettepe University, Faculty of Economic & Administrative Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The challenges of the Arab Spring and of Syrian unrest in particular have generated scholarly debate on Ahmet Davutoğlu's broadly appreciated ‘zero problems with neighbours’ principle in Turkish foreign policy. This paper presents an assessment of the viability of the Davutoğlu vision and the changing parameters of foreign policy in a new era. It concludes with a discussion of a crucial question: ‘Is this the end of Davutoğlu's foreign policy vision?’ [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the prospects of Turkey moving toward authoritarian form of government under Turkish political party Justice and Development Party (AKP) leader and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, referencing the country's political history and nationalism from 2002 through 2014. The Turkish government's response to the protests at Gezi Park in Taksim Square, Istanbul, Turkey in 2013 is discussed. The relationship between Islam and state in Turkey is also discussed.

On 30 March 2014 Turkish voters elected their local (city) councillors. Their party preferences seem to indicate considerable correspondence with the national vote choices. So, do voters' choices in local elections differ from voters' party preferences at the national legislative elections? Based on previous research findings on Turkish voting behaviour, a list of hypotheses was compiled and tested, using binary logistic regression analyses and survey data collected immediately prior to the 2009 and 2014 local elections. The main findings are that the party lists are supported at the ballot boxes on the basis of the voters' party identification, ideological positions, and economic (dis)satisfaction, whether in national or local elections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The election of the first government of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in 2002 was a turning point for Turkey. People wanted change. That's what the AKP offered. Their successful economic management has seen Turkey transformed over the last 12 years. Foreign policy initiatives also prospered and relations with a number of neighbours improved.. More recent events have led some commentators to ask whether Turkey is moving forwards or backwards on the democratic path. There are concerns that the Ataturk legacy of a secular state is being slowly eroded by the forces of a conservative democracy and that too much power is now concentrated in the hands of Mr Erdogan. This is the background to the 2013 riots in (westernised) Istanbul. And the situation in the region leaves little room for optimism. The challenge now is to promote the political stability and predictability that will encourage continuing foreign and domestic investment in Turkey and to undertake the further structural reforms essential if Turkey is to rise out of the middle income trap and climb into the group of wealthier nations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

One year on from the widespread protests in Turkey, the question of why small environmental protests against the building of a shopping mall on Gezi Park in the centre of Istanbul turned into the biggest example of mass civil movement in the republic's history remains unanswered. This article suggests that one can easily detect signs of instability and social unrest in the country long before these mass demonstrations took place. By analysing the evolution of the Turkish party system over the past decade, I argue that the political upheaval in the country is the result of a crisis of representation. This has two aspects: a high degree of polarisation has left certain segments of society unrepresented, while the AKP government has ceased to maintain the balance between responsiveness and responsibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Turkey is undergoing the most substantial constitutional reform process in its history, at the same time as carrying out significant peace talks with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party. These two processes will have profound effects on the country’s future governance. Most importantly, the processes could contribute to bridging gaps in Turkey’s polarized society. As the processes take place in secret, their substantive contents are currently unknown. This article provides a critical analysis of the processes in the light of the new theory of constitutionalism, paying particular attention to the changing role of the European Union in Turkey’s reform discussions. This analysis leads to some sceptical conclusions: given the secrecy, exclusiveness and political hostility surrounding the processes, it seems that they are unlikely to achieve their potential. In addition, despite its contradictions, the weakening of European Union conditionality appears to have negatively affected the reform process. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Student movements in the twentieth century Middle East have received less attention than many other topics in the study of the region's cultural and political history. Yet the rapidly changing demographic composition of the region since the 1960s have made young people and youth activism a significant parameter in Middle Eastern politics, highlighted by the Arab Spring that began in late 2010. Student movements in Turkey and Egypt gained momentum in the 1960, and in the 1970s Islamic discourse became increasingly popular among young activists. These youth movements operated through flexible structures, allowing them to challenge the state authority and secular statecraft. This essay explores three of the leading religious and nationalist student movements in Turkey and Egypt in the 1970s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses differences in rural and urban origin in visits from natives and the occurrence of interethnic marriages of Turkish immigrants in six European countries. We argue that values and human capital explain the relationship between rural-urban origin and contact with natives. The value-based hypothesis stipulates that differences in contact with natives are due to values and predispositions that correlate with people's rural and urban origin. The human capital hypothesis predicts that variation between rural and urban origin can be ascribed to differences in human capital accumulation. Using the Six Country Immigrant Incorporation Comparative Survey (SCIICS), the results show that Turkish immigrants with a rural origin have fewer visits from natives and are less likely to intermarry. Furthermore, educational attainment, destination country language proficiency, religious identification and identification with the origin culture explain a substantial part of the rural origin effect. However, also when accounting for values and human capital, we find a significant direct effect of rural origin, suggesting that rural and urban immigrants build social relations differently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the challenges of protecting Syrian refugees due to their displacement and consistent migration. The author focuses on Turkey and Libya and their challenges to protect refugees and efficiently monitor their borders. Other topics include: urban refugees and civil society groups.

An essay is presented on the political protests in Gezi Park, Taksim, Turkey and the creativity of performance that arose from the protests. It offers a history of revolts and demonstrations in Turkey including Kurdish riots, clashes between Marxists and extreme nationalists, and Events of 6-7 September. The author also discusses protest events and performances which include Taksim and resistance, Park performances, and rising tensions caused by the entrance of riot police.

The literature of Europeanization claims that the EU transforms the politics of member and candidate countries through processes such as social learning and socialization. This article questions the emphasis of Europeanization studies on ideational factors by looking at the example of Turkey-EU relations. The reform projects undertaken jointly by the EU and the Turkish police show that the EU seeks to transform the practices of candidate country actors, rather than simply their ideas. Moreover, the candidate country actors are not only passive learners, but they also seek to modify the content of EU reforms according to their interests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the 2001 crisis, Turkey continued to pursue the radical market-oriented reform strategy that had started in the early 1980s and followed the philosophy of the Washington Consensus. Gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the post-2001 period was relatively high, but it was a jobless" growth caused by substantial productivity increases generated largely by intensifying the work process rather than by technological advancements. Economic growth in the post-2001 period benefited society very unequally. The growth regime of Turkey is vulnerable owing to high current account deficit; high currency mismatch, particularly in the corporate sector; high income inequality; high unemployment; and an unsatisfactory development of the industrial sector, despite some successes. We recommend a new development regime with selective capital controls, a balanced current account, an active industrial policy by the government, stronger trade unions and employers' associations engaged in social dialogue combined with coordinated wage bargaining on the sectoral level, and last but not least, redistributive policies aiming to achieve a more equal income distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article argues that it is fallacious to promote the Turkish democratic experience under the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP) as a model for the emerging Arab democracies. Despite the early political reformism of the AKP, an empirical analysis of the government's recent crackdown on basic rights and freedoms demonstrates that the "Turkish model," defined as a marriage of Islam and liberal democracy, cannot respond to the demands of Arab reformers. In this regard, the article falls into three sections. In the first section, assets of the "Turkish model" according to various actors are examined, which casts doubt on the emancipatory discourse underlying the promotion of the model. The second section proposes the term "leader democracy"-- or, more specifically, "Erdoğanism"--as a way of denoting the governmental structure of Turkey as of early 2014. The final section depicts the current Turkish democracy in terms of the state of checks and balances and of basic political and social rights. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the transformation of Turkey's politics during the rule of the Justice and Development Party (JDP) which has roots in the Turkish Islamist movement. It notes the JDP's popular support and influence through the 2007 and 2011 general elections and the withdrawal of JDP support for Turkey's European Union membership process. It talks about the political rise of the JDP, its mobilization against the secular-democratic state, and the aftermath of the 2011 general elections.

This article seeks to account for the prolonged inability of the Republican People's Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, CHP) to be considered as a credible alternative to the governing Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP). Accounting for this is relevant from two perspectives: the emergence of a dominant party system during the AKP decade, and the increased rhetoric and public discourse stressing the “lack of [credible] opposition parties” in the party spectrum. The article attributes the CHP's electoral malaise to a mixture structural and leadership problems specific to the party organization. This argument, however, is placed against the backdrop of the dominant distributive position that the incumbent occupies in Turkey's political arena. The AKP's domination of both national and local government, typified by a service-oriented governing style, serves to undermine not just the CHP's chances of success, but virtually all opposition parties. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Turkey, similar to its counterparts in emerging markets, has been aiming to reduce irregular migration effectively and comprehensively with various sets of policies since the 1990s. However, the number of undocumented migrants continues to increase and unregistered foreign employment is as high as ever. This study aims to explain the reasons underlying this conundrum by focusing on the nature of the policies adopted and the characteristics of the target population relying on data collected on a sample of unregistered foreign workers in the textile sector in Istanbul. It argues that the reasons for the limited effectiveness of the policies is attributable to structural factors such as inherent problems with the existing policies for regulating irregular migration and preferences as well as the behavior of the unregistered foreign workers and their employers. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article aims to explore the problems of democratic governance of the defense and security sectors in Turkey. In recent years, to democratize its civil–military relations, Turkey has successfully dealt with the first-generation problems of making institutional reforms to eliminate the military's intervention in politics. Democratic civil–military relations, however, cannot be achieved only by getting the military out of politics, but also require the elimination of second-generation problems concerning the democratic governance of the defense and security sectors. In this respect, Turkey faces significant challenges related to its ineffective defense policy-making structures, insufficient parliamentary oversight of the defense and security sectors and civil society's very low level of participation in defense and security debates. Turkey needs to make reforms in these problematic areas in order to democratize its civil–military relations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Recent democratic performance of the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi) indicates the dissolution of its original liberal ambiguity in ways that hinder the possibilities of a full-fledged democracy in Turkey. This study finds the explanation in the perpetuation of a specifically Turkish paradigm of democracy/democratization, which has emerged in the early years of the Turkish experiment with democracy and has been reproduced by the Turkish political class ever since. In doing so, the article draws attention to the predominance of a defective conceptualization of democracy, which, while emphasizing the elected government's supremacy over the tutelary state elite, fails to come to terms with the inevitability of political disagreement and the normative imperative of seeking consensus for a positive-sum politics. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Çalışma ve Toplum is the property of Calisma ve Toplum and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Using wavelet methodology, we make a detailed spectral analysis of the business cycle synchronization of the Turkish economy with the eurozone and the United States. We take into account the dramatic change in the main economic indicators in the Turkish economy after the 2001 financial crisis. We find that the correlation of Turkish cycles with the cycles of the eurozone and the United States increased substantially after 2001. Moreover, the correlation of the Turkish cycles with the U.S. cycles is not lower than that with the euro cycles after 2001. Accordingly, analyzing the effect of international developments should not be confined to the trade channel. We submit that capital flows offer a reasonable explanation for the high correlation with the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Romanian Journal for Baltic & Nordic Studies/Revista Romana de Studii Baltice si Nordice is the property of Sciendo and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article adds to recent debates on the emergence of new forms of private gated developments in Turkey that specifically target the upper middle classes. In particular, it focuses on the rise of residential gated developments along the Izmir- Ceşme expressway to highlight how the dialectics between gender, nature and culture are reinforced in these places. The article, based on a case study of three gated developments in this region, suggests that their production is made possible through a series of dualisms between nature and culture, mobility and fixity, urban public life and gendered domesticity, urban modernity and rural parochialism, polluted city and healthy town. Based on interviews with architects, developers and residents, as well as local-authority officials in Urla town who sanction these developments, this article argues that contradictions between different sets of dualisms form a central aspect of the processes through which these developments were designed, produced, marketed and inhabited. Taken collectively, these contradictions point broadly to the limits of gated communities in creating stable, adaptable and sustainable patterns of development in Turkey and the global South. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Sociologia e Política is the property of Revista de Sociologia e Politica and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The March 2014 local elections, following the Gezi Park protests and allegations of government corruption, registered the highest turnout of any Turkish election since 1994. Despite strong resistance from conservative and liberal circles, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) held onto its constituency without losing much electoral support. Its losses were shared among the opposition parties, none of which emerged in a strong position to challenge the AKP. The rise of the Nationalist Action Party (MHP), which came second in five out of 12 regions, suggested a change in the intra-opposition dynamics. The article presents a geographical and socio-economic analysis of the election, finding a significant generation gap. It also examines the electoral impact of economic perceptions and allegations of governmental graft. The election outcome is expected to shape both government and opposition strategies in the forthcoming presidential and parliamentary elections, potentially leading to another round of incumbent victories and increasing societal polarisation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The cleavage between the secular centre and the religious-conservative periphery has been the most important dividing line in modern Turkish politics. In the past, centre-right parties have successfully appealed to the peripheral majority, emerging as victors in almost all parliamentary elections since 1950. This trend continues with the Justice and Development Party (AKP). In power since 2002, winner of three consecutive elections with increasing majorities, the AKP qualifies as a predominant party. The article focuses on the AKP's recent drift towards an excessively majoritarian conception of democracy, or even an electoral authoritarianism of a more markedly Islamic character. Topics discussed include the Gezi Park events in May–June 2013, the conflict with the Gülen movement, corruption charges against government ministers, recent legislation weakening judicial independence and restricting freedom of expression, and the 30 March 2014 local elections. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The social studies curriculum was recently revised in Turkey, running in a pilot scheme in the school year 2004-05. It was then implemented in primary schools all over Turkey from 2006. This study describes the kind of citizen it aims to form by analysing all of the documents relating to social studies teaching. The social studies curriculum for primary education was prepared as separate programmes for the fourth and fifth grades, and the sixth and seventh grades. These two programmes are therefore discussed and analysed separately in this study. This research has some characteristics of a case study as a result of the qualitative research designs and content analysis used. According to the research, the main goal of the social studies curriculum in Turkey, which is to form citizens who are democratic, active and respectful of human rights, is visibly promoted in the social studies curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article provides an overview of Turkey's recently increased engagement in Africa in terms of the potential, limits and future perspectives of relations. It aims to examine Turkey's foreign policy toward Africa and to analyze the driving force behind this foreign policy between 2001 and 2010. The maidens of Turkish Foreign Policy towards African countries have been analyzed as official initiatives and supplementary efforts that demonstrate significant dynamism of Turkish Non- Governmental Organizations (NGOs). The evidences show that Turkish foreign policy has been managed consistently; and as a result of this, improvements on relations are clearly recorded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the political role and political stability of Turkey as of mid-2014. It discusses the history of Turkish political ideology, particularly Pan-Turkism and Neo-Ottomanism, and the reforms of Turkish political leader Kemal Ataturk. The article also discusses the Turkish political party the Justice and Development Party (JDP) and theologian Fethullah Gulen, moderate Islam in Turkish affairs, and Turkish political corruption during the 21st century. It also discusses the policies of Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The article discusses municipal elections in Turkey and the administration of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The author reflects on Erdogan's majority win in the 2011 election and allegations of government corruption and anti-democratic behavior. Other topics include Erdogan's Islamic beliefs and their relationship to public policy, legislation on the National Intelligence Organization, and relations with the U.S. government.

This article analyses the conception of womanhood and nationhood in Turkey through images of the First Lady in the media. It demonstrates that while there is a struggle between the secularist and Islamist media on issues such as Turkish national identity and public visibility, the secularist and Islamist discourses overlap when it comes to gender roles. In both cases, the private sphere is designated as the primary domain of women and the agency of women in the public sphere is limited by the symbolic duties they are expected to perform in accordance with the national imaginary. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study exposes a comparative treatment of the private returns to education in Palestine and Turkey over the period 2004-2008. Comparable data, similar definitions and same methodology are used in the estimations. The results suggest that returns to schooling are higher for Turkey at the various levels of education for females and males and for both years 2004 and 2008. In 2008, returns are lower than 2004 levels for all stages of education. Returns to education are higher for women than men in both countries. The median ratio of male to female return is 0.55 (university) in 2004 and decreased to 0.17 (high school) in 2008 in Palestine. The corresponding figures for Turkey are 0.79 and .082 (both for high school). Finally, it was found that the selectivity corrected return estimates are lower than the OLS estimates in Palestine while they are higher than the OLS estimates in Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political parties are the integral components of democratic systems. Without political parties, democratic systems cannot function. Yet, not all political parties embrace the existing ‘rules of the game’. After the experience with Nazi Germany and fascist Italy during the interwar period, dealing with anti-systemic parties has become a central debate in democratic systems. Even though party closures have taken place in some European democracies, the high frequency of party closures in Turkey raised criticisms that Turkey has become the ‘graveyard’ of political parties. Since the 1960s, a total of 27 parties were banned in Turkey. The purpose of this article is to provide a comparative analysis of the justifications of party closures in Turkey. In doing so, the article examines two major political causes of party closures on two major party traditions in Turkey: (1) Political Islamists and violation of secularism (separation of religion and politics) and (2) Kurdish left and violation of territorial integrity/national unity. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article discusses the role of Turkish disabled veterans' organizations in a nationalist campaign against Turkey's potential membership in the organization the European Union (EU). The author discusses the significance of gender, particularly the tension between the nationalism of veterans' organizations and the experiences of lower-class disabled men, and the connection between what the author terms the political rites of consecration and rites of desecration. It also discusses compulsory military service in Turkey, masculinity, and the honorific known as ghazi.

Since the credibility of the European Union (EU) conditionality for Turkey has significantly weakened after 2005, compliance with the EU requirements has become less likely. However, we observe continuing reforms in the fight against corruption and minority rights, which is rather puzzling. Given the limited impact of the EU incentives, this paper brings back the ‘domestic’ into the analysis by exploring the role of various domestic actors, such as Turkish state elites, civil society and the media. Yet, as the empirical evidence suggests, policy change in the fight against corruption and minority rights has been driven by the domestic agenda of the governing party, the Justice and Development Party, and its political preferences based on strategic calculations. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Within the process of Turkey's European Union (EU) accession, the EU aims to strengthen Turkey's democratization through various programmes focusing on the role of civil society. By funding non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the EU intends to empower NGOs to take on a self-responsible role in Turkey's democratization process. In this article, I argue that the EU indeed aims to support a liberal narrative through the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) yet by the means of neo-liberal governmental power. Through this it renders the NGOs rather technical instead of political and thus misses the chance of strengthening a liberal narrative that could pose an alternative to the reoccurring hegemonic struggle between a Kemalist and a pro-Islam narrative in Turkey. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The article examines innovations that have been made in Turkish design as a result of the search for national design identity. Topics discussed include the history of industrial design in Turkey, the impact of trade between Turkey and the European Union on design in the country, and the Turkish designs of coffee pots, tea trays, and tea glasses. The impact of the potentially radical politics and government of Turkey on design is also examined. The design and construction of mosques in Turkey is also explored.

We provide probability forecasts of key Turkish macroeconomic variables such as inflation and output growth. The probability forecasts are derived from a core vector error correction model of the Turkish economy and its several variants. We use model and window averaging to address uncertainties arising from estimated models and possible structural breaks. The performances of the different models and their combinations are evaluated using relevant forecast accuracy tests in different pseudo out-of-sample settings. The results indicate that successful directional forecasts can be obtained for output growth and inflation. Averaging over both the models and the estimation windows improves the level of accuracy of the forecasts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on a joint report commissioned by the Brookings Institution and the International Strategic Research Organization (USAK) which emphasizes the predicament of Syrian refugees in Turkey and addresses the limits of hospitality toward refugees. Information is given on the estimated number of Syrian refugees in the country, as of April 2014. It discusses the major challenges facing the country based on the scope and severity of the problem.

This paper grapples with the state's response to contemporary urban movements. In light of recent debates on the changing nature of urban movements, it presents an overview of the responses of states in different modes of regulation, ranging from a Keynesian regime to sequential stages of neoliberalisation. Examples of authoritarianism and the entrepreneurial roles of the state are drawn from the Turkish experience to show how economic liberalism can be combined with increasing social control, restrictions, penalisation and exclusion. Reviewing Turkish urban policies and practice, the urban mobilisations against them, and the varying positions of the state will shed light not only on what is happening in Turkey but also on the transformative nature of neoliberalisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Optimum: Journal of Economics & Management Sciences / Ekonomi ve Yönetim Bilimleri Dergisi is the property of Optimum: Journal of Economics & Management Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)