As PM Erdoğan emerged as a front runner in the upcoming presidential race in August 2014, opposition parties continue to resist any meaningful debate about the country's political system.

In the years after the AKP came to power in November 2002, however, an active struggle against the military-bureaucratic grip on politics led to the eradication of the old regime and a gradual democratisation of the political system.

The discourse of "new Turkey" has repeatedly appeared during historical turning points of the Turkish Republic. It is used for the sake of different interests by local and foreign circles.

One of the reasons why political jargon is framed as if it were a general election is because of the Dec. 17 operation that caused local elections to be pushed out of its normal process.

The declaration of Muslim Brotherhood, or Ikhwan, as a “terror organization” has been accepted as one of the most radical decisions taken since the overthrow of the President Mohammed Morsi on July 3, 2013.

The biggest obstacle that stands before Turkey’s democratization efforts today is nothing but the 1980 constitution, which was drafted based on the founding ideology after the coup.

The West still does not trust the political actors holding Islamic traditions in the Middle East, and it does not know how to interact with them effectively.

It would not be realistic to talk about breaking relations between Egypt and Turkey while not only the Egyptian people but also the Egyptian elites have sympathy for the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

One of the fundamental issues and the source of ‘fear’ for many in the West after the revolution in Egypt was a possible radical change in the foreign policy area. But what has changed in the foreign policy of Egypt after the revolution?

The real issue rose when Kurdish uprisings rose against Kemalism in response to the imposition of Turkification policies on Kurds, who were, in effect, natives of Anatolia.

We can assess where exactly Egypt falls on the “revolution” and “change” spectrum by tracing the “times” of Egypt post-Mubarak through the lenses of the Turkish political “calendar.

SETA PANEL   Oturum Başkanı:     Talip Küçükcan, SETA    Konuşmacılar:    Walid Saffour, Suriye  İnsan Hakları Komitesi (SHRC) Başkanı    Nadim Houry, İHİÖ Başkan Yrdc. ve Ortadoğu ve Kuzey Afrika Sorumlusu    Cengiz Çandar, Radikal Gazetesi Yazarı    Tarih: 26 Nisan 2012 Perşembe  Saat: 11.00-13.00  Yer: SETA, Ankara Salonu

Reforming Turkey’s education system symbolizes not only an end to weak civilian institutions but also represents an opportunity to bridge the gap between secularists and conservatives in the country.

Egypt has to confront military tutelage, economic crisis, regional order and international dynamics all while learning the particulars of democratic political competition.

We are witnessing in our region, in our neighbourhood very important events, evidently very important developments which will shape the history. 

Turkish politics is currently undergoing a heated political debate on the constitutional reform package (supported by Prime Minister Erdogan's ruling party), which is on its way to a referendum this Sunday. The package includes amendments to 26 articles of the current constitution along. In addition, it would eliminate the controversial Article 15, a ‘temporary' article that has been in the constitution since the 1980's, preventing the prosecution of officials involved in the military coup of 1980. All in all, Sunday's referendum is one of the ruling AK Party's clearest challenges thus far to Turkey's Kemalist establishment. Since the establishment of the Turkish Republic, four new constitutions have been adopted (1921, 1924, 1961, 1982) - the latest two were drafted after military interventions - and numerous amendments have been made. Since the most recent constitution was adopted in 1982, there have been 15 amendment packages, which have affected almost half of the constitution. As such, the debate on the present constitution is not exactly a new one for Turkey, as the public is quite accustomed to constitutional changes and the public debate they generate. To understand, then, why the current package has touched off such a firestorm in Turkish society and led to an intensified political atmosphere, it is important to consider both the ramifications that the current reform efforts has for the political system in Turkey and the historical context.

Bosnia-Herzegovina remains as divided as ever. In the past year Turkish foreign policy in Bosnia-Herzegovina has become more assertive and outcome-oriented. The successes of the new Turkish assertiveness have helped to initiate a much-needed reconciliation process between Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Turkey derives its assertiveness not only from Foreign Minister Davutoğlu’s vision of sustainable peace but also from its shared history and cultural practices throughout the region. Turkey’s efforts could strengthen the efforts of the international community to integrate BiH into European and trans-Atlantic bodies.