Editor's Note

Editor's Note Volume 14 No 4

The Syrian crisis is deepening. Pro-Assad forces have so far killed more than 30,000 Syrians; hundreds of thousands have fled to neighboring countries. The refugees settled in Turkey have exceeded 100,000, the threshold figure that Tur- key had already declared as its limit that it can provide services to.

Editor's Note Volume 14 No 3

Another hot summer in the Middle East… Tens of thousands of Syrians continue to flee the violence inflicted upon them by Bashar Assad’s regime by seeking refuge in Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon. Now desperate, the regime is using its airplanes to punish the opposition in Aleppo and other cities of Syria, and is threatening to use its chemical weapons.

Editor's Note, Volume 14 No 2

As the spring issue of Insight Turkey goes to print the Middle East nears another great crisis or even a war. The Syrian quagmire may be the current harbinger of full-out war in the region. It has been a year since the uprisings started. The Syrian regime met the peaceful demonstrations of its people with violent and bloody repression.

Editor's Note - Volume 11 No 3

The Turkish political scene did not witness a profound change with the local elections of March 2009. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) continued its strong electoral performance and maintained its status as the most popular political force. One change following the election was the cabinet reshuffle in May in which Professor Ahmet Davutoğlu was appointed as Turkey’s minister of foreign affairs. Such an appointment was hardly a surprise, since it is no secret that he had been the architect of Turkey’s foreign policy under the AK Party government as the chief foreign policy advisor to the prime minister.

Editor's Note - Volume 11 No 4

When analyzing Islam and democracy, pundits and scholars have tended to focus on Arab-majority countries, all of which are authoritarian. This special issue brings a new perspective into the debate by analyzing non-Arab Muslim democracies in addition to Muslim democrats in some Arab countries. Besides empirical analyses, this issue also includes theoretical discussions on diverse political interpretations of Islam and the role of Islamic discourses in a democratic polity.

Editor's Note - Volume 11 No 2

The Turkish domestic and foreign policy agenda has been occupied by monumental developments over the last three months. Discussions have ranged from a new period in Turkish-US relations in light of US President Barack Obama’s historic visit to Ankara, to the efforts for a rapprochement between Turkey and Armenia, to the future of Turkish-Israeli relations, and to the strength of the AK Party following the March local elections.

Editor's Note - Volume 11 No 1

The year 2008 ended with the Israeli attacks on Gaza, killing hundreds and injuring thousands of Palestinians. While Israel put the blame on Hamas, which controls Gaza, for its air and ground attacks, the number of civilian causalities, including women and children, renders such an excuse meaningless. Despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire, the war on Gaza will, without doubt, end whenever the Israeli government decides it’s over.