In addition to having the power to influence the other elections, the president-elect who emerges from the presidential election, as the first president to have been elected by popular vote, will have to be a “different kind of president.”

The opposition's pursuit of a unity candidate, already plagued with a number of practical problems, also goes against the nature of democratic politics by alienating the AK Party and promoting further polarization in Turkish politics.

Shall we all be grateful to the so-called "White Turks" for making lucrative gains over the course of Turkey's global economic integration and paying considerable amounts of tax to the state in return?

Ever since the general elections of June 12, 2011, even without knowing how exactly events would unfold, it was not difficult to see that 2014 stood to become a very difficult political long year.

It may be too late for this to succeed, but there does not seem to be a better option unless, of course, the international community is prepared to let the Syrian opposition fail.

In contrast, analyses on Turkish-American relations keep an eye on concrete policies - which results in a highly visible discrepancy between the two views.

A critical political juncture in the wake of presidential and general elections will be held within less than a year.

The Ak Party which integrated a discourse of civilization with Erdoğan's leadership, has the courage to confront all fears of the history of Turkish modernization.