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Insight Turkey > Issues | Religion and State in Europa - Winter 2015 / Volume 17, Number 1

Religion and State in Europa



Editor's Notes


Editor's Note | Winter 2015
Religion, religious groups and teo-politics are always most vital topics of the Western politics. The relationship between politics and religion is reciprocal. While both domestic and international political actors try to exploit religion and religious sensitivity for their political interests and gains, religion and belief systems want to use significant power over main political and cultural actors and perceptions. With the emergence of the violent non-state actors such as Taliban, al-Qaeda and DAISH, which were all surfaced in the Middle East but have become transnational actors deeply affecting European politics, and the recent popularity of far-right Islam-phobic movements such as PEGIDA in Europe have once again forced us to look closely at the relationship between religion and politics in Western politics specifically in Europe.


Commentaries


When Foreign Policy Matters: The Gülen Movement’s Fight with the AK Party over Iran
It is widely accepted that identities are stable and they are one of the main motivations for...

What Has Been Is What Will Be: The 2015 Israeli Elections and the State of Turkish-Israeli Relations
The most notable aspect of the 2015 Israeli parliamentary elections was that the incumbent Prime...

War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity in Syria
This article evaluates the civil war in Syria from a human rights perspective from March 2011...

The Blue Peace: Achieving Peace and Security through Water Cooperation
Water is about people and human security. Unfortunately water has become a source of conflicts...

Responding to Religious Claims in a Secular Democracy: The Turkish Case
This article examines state responses to claims made by religious groups, unorthodox communities...


Articles


Religion and Religious Communities in the EU Legal System
This article considers the different components of the “acquis communautaire” in the matter of...

Religion and State in Belgium
This article focuses on the complex question of state-religion relations in Belgium and examines...

Religion and Law in the Netherlands
Religion remains an influential force in our time despite the prophesy of secularization theory...

Churches and Religious Communities in Poland with Particular Focus on the Situation of Muslim Communities
This article examines complex relations between the state and churches as well as religious...

President Obama’s Middle East Policy, 2009-2013
President Barack Obama won the 2008 US presidential race with promises to restore America’s lost...

Turkey’s Stance towards the Main Developments in the South Caucasus
This article aims to elaborate on Turkey’s stance towards the main developments in the South...


Review Article


Women’s Voices Across the World for Justice
The three books reviewed here focus on one of the most prevalent forms of discrimination: Gender Injustice. Everywhere in the world women tend to suffer from gender discrimination more than men, regardless of ethnicity, class, or religion1 and gender disparities vary widely making women more vulnerable to poverty, abuse, or political marginalization. Compared to men, women and girls receive less education, remain underrepresented, face difficulties in accessing health and judicial services. Futher, they are exposed to all kinds of violence and unequal standings in society. This inequality makes gender justice a morally and politically urgent topic. Although the majority of countries in the world legally and rhetorically institutionalize and support women’s rights, the political will to fight against gender inequality is usually absent. Thus, women become victims of discriminatory social and cultural norms as well as conservative mind-sets, policies, laws and institutions.


Book Reviews


The Young Atatürk: From Ottoman Soldier to Statesman of Turkey
In The Young Atatürk, George Gawrych examines the intellectual development of Mustafa Kemal as a...

Religious Conversions in the Mediterranean World
Religious Conversions in the Mediterranean World is an edited volume focusing on a neglected...

Islamophobia in America: The Anatomy of Intolerance
This edited volume is a collection of essays dealing with the issue of Islamophobia in the United...

The Making of the Arab Intellectual Empire, Public Sphere and the Colonial Coordinates of Selfhood
History of Arab intellectuals has received a renewed academic attention after the Arab world...

Japan’s Foreign Aid to Africa Angola and Mozambique within the TICAD Process
Pedro Amakasu Raposo’s Japan’s Foreign Aid to Africa was published exactly at the right time when...

Prospect Theory and Foreign Policy Analysis in the Asia Pacific Rational Leaders and Risky Behavior
Theory, or the principles that help one organise, understand and interpret facts in a better...

Turkish-Greek Relations Rapprochement, Civil Society and the Politics of Friendship
Leonidas Karakatsanis’ book looks at the reconciliation efforts between Turkey and Greece which,...

Visions of the Ottoman World in Renaissance Europe
Over the past three decades, Ottoman studies continues to be enriched by new topics and...

Controversies in Contemporary Islam
This book is structured in terms of a number of issues that are controversial among Muslims or...

Mûsiki İnkılâbı’nın Sosyolojisi: Klasik Türk Müziği Geleneğinde Süreklilik ve Değişim
There is a recent growing interest in Ottoman/Turkish music, fostering new research initiatives...


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