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Insight Turkey > Issues | Turkish Politics after Elections - Fall 2011 / Volume 13, Number 4

Turkish Politics after Elections



Editor's Notes


Editor's Note | Fall 2011
It seems that the 2011 summer elections marks the end of the old maxim that conveniently formulates politics as “the art of the possible.” It is no secret that the transformative agenda by the consecutive AK Party governments since 2002 has been restricted by the “ancien regime,” which has drawn the limits of “what is necessary” or “what is possible” in affecting “fundamental changes” and reconfiguring the relations between the “old” and “new” power centers. However, the historic appreciation of the AK Party government expressed in votes by half the population suggests that as the old power elite is fading away, politics for the next AK Party government goes beyond its “fight” for emancipating politics from the constraints of Kemalist power centers. 


Commentaries


A Tradition in Delivering Injustice: Judiciary and Rights in Turkey
This piece is on a number of critical rulings issued recently by high courts in Turkey in brazen...

Turkey’s Foray into Africa: A New Humanitarian Power?
Prime Minister Recep Erdoğan visited Somalia in mid-August to raise awareness on the devastating...

The Arab Spring and Turkey: The Camp David Order vs. the New Middle East
Over the past decade, Turkey has been experiencing a decisive transition that North Africa and...

The Arab Spring Gathers Clouds: Why the Revolts for Change Have Stalled
The wave of popular protests engulfing the Arab Middle East has yielded markedly different...

Israel: Quo Vadis, Turkey?
The Mavi Marmara tragic affair is viewed in Israel as part of a Turkish political maneuvering...

Torpedoing the Law: How the Palmer Report Justified Israel’s Naval Blockade of Gaza
On May 31st, 2010, Israeli commandos killed nine passengers aboard a humanitarian flotilla...

Disappointment at the United Nations: The Failure of the Palmer Report
After the Israeli attack of May 31, 2010 on the Freedom Flotilla led by the Mavi Marmara, the UN...


Articles


A Quantitative Analysis of Turkey’s 2011 Elections
The changes in Turkey’s political landscape over the past decade have been quite dramatic. In...

The Nationalist Action Party in the 2011 Elections: The Limits of Oscillating Between State and Society
The MHP won 13 percent of the vote in the June 2011 elections, which guaranteed it 52 seats in...

The 2011 Elections and the Kurdish Question1
This essay argues that the 2011 election results point to a number of important conclusions...

Continuity and Rupture: The “New CHP” or ‘What Has Changed in the CHP?’1
This paper discusses the CHP within the paradigm of party individualization and the “political...

The Electoral Success of the AKP: Cause for Hope and Despair
The 2011 elections marked the emergence of the AKP as a political brand that is likely to win all...

Turkey at the Crossroads: From “Change with Politics as Usual” to Politics with Change as Usual
The article analyzes the new roadmap for Turkey after the summer 2011 elections as not a...


Book Reviews


The Biography of Muhammad: Nature and Authenticity
Gregor Schoeler’s The Biography of Muhammad: Nature and authenticity was first published in...

Europe’s Promise, Why the European Way is the Best Hope in an Insecure Age
The key argument behind Steven Hill’s comprehensive analysis of the European way is that Europe...

Hold on to Your Veil Fatima! And Other Snapshots of Life in Contemporary Egypt
“Hold on to Your Veil Fatima!” takes the reader on a journey into 21st century Egypt. The book...

Power, Islam, and Political Elite in Iran: A Study of the Iranian Political Elite from Khomeini to Ahmadinejad
The problem with this book is that it does not deliver what the title promises. In a study of any...

Are Muslims Distinctive? A Look at the Evidence
Are Muslims Distinctive? is an exceptionally objective book that examines the highly subjective...

In the Shadow of Sectarianism: Law, Shi‘ism and the Making of Modern Lebanon
An observer of contemporary Lebanon may be struck by two interrelated aspects of Lebanese...

The Militant Kurds: A Dual Strategy for Freedom
This is not just another book criticizing Turkey for its well-known Kurdish problem. Rather it is...

The Kurds and US Foreign Policy: International Relations in the Middle East since 1945
Through this thoughtful and carefully researched account of US relations with the Kurds, Marriana...

The Caucasus Under Soviet Rule
In The Caucasus Under Soviet Rule, Alex Marshall examines the complexities of internal politics...

Turkish Foreign Policy, Islam Nationalism and Globalization
Although it is widely accepted that there have been important elements of continuity as well as...

The Cyprus Issue: The Four Freedoms in a Member State under Siege
Nikos Skoutaris has written a timely book on the European Union’s (EU) handling of the legal...

Crime and Punishment in Istanbul, 1700-1800
Revisionist history is “in.” Indeed, there is no other history these days. This is the case for...


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