The American invasion of Iraq can be demonstrated as a textbook example of how to kill a state and destroy a population, if not a nation.

The Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army needs to liberate al-Bab and reinforce the safe zone with moderates who left eastern Aleppo under the Turkey-Russia deal

Rapprochement between Ankara and Washington might only materialize if there are tangible steps that indicate harmonization of policies on FETÖ, the PKK and the PYD

Criticizing Turkey has been a popular sport in Western capitals. It would appear that they will continue talking for some time. In April, their main focus will be charges of Armenian genocide, to which Turkey must respond with rational policies able to cut through the noise.

Turkey, after a long time, is undertaking elections to build a new future instead of overcoming a crisis situation.

The talk of a “new Turkey” is generating lively debates both in Turkey and abroad. Last week we discussed  Washington where the US government was trying to recover from the embarrassment of WikiLeaks.

Turkish-Arab relations are getting closer on the level of state policies and consolidated by cooperation agreements, strategic alliances, high level exchange of visits and expansion of trade volume. Although a promising future is ahead of Turkish-Arab relations, civil and human dimensions on the level of public perception on each side seem to be lagging behind political developments. Today, public support is increasingly sought in foreign policies as it provides legitimacy and confidence in pursuing a certain direction. Mobilization of public support in Turkey and the Arab world will boost Turkish-Arab relations on the basis of mutual trust. In order to achieve this goal, both sides should work together to eliminate biased views, stereotypes and negative images held towards each other.

SETA PUBLIC LECTURE     Professor Robert W. Hefner     Director, Institute on Culture, Religion, and World Affairs, Boston University   Date: May 11, 2010 Tuesday Time: 16.00 - 18.00 Venue: SETA, Ankara

Recent years have made it clear that NATO is going through a transformation process; Turkey will be one of the allies most affected by this process. Both the future of NATO and Turkey’s perception of NATO membership will be at stake unless the allies can reach consensus on the core strategic issues of the transformation agenda. Analysts urgently need to come up with convincing answers to the following questions: In which ways has NATO’s transformation been going through? Why does Turkey feel uneasy with some aspects of the process? What steps should Turkey take in order to ensure that the transformation of the Alliance is viewed positively at home?

In the parliamentary elections of July 22, 2007, AKP (Justice and Development Party) won 47% of the votes, obtaining a very strong mandate to take issue with Turkey’s outstanding problems. In the predominantly Kurdish east and southeast region, the AKP doubled its vote from 26% to 53%. The AKP seemed to have persuaded the Kurds thanks to the party’s earlier moves to solve the Kurdish problem by granting more rights and freedoms as well as jobs and economic prosperity. Having started the negotiation process with the EU and obtaining such a strong mandate from the Kurdish voters, why did the AKP turn its back to the Kurdish issue?  This can be explained with reference to three groups of factors working at the domestic, the EU and international levels.

Güvenlik çalışmaları son yıllarda ülkemizde gelişme eğilimi gösteren bir alandır. Güvenliğin alanı, muhatapları, üretimi ve tüketimi ile ilgili yeni bakış açıları devlet eksenli bir güvenlik anlayışından, insan ve toplum merkezli bir güvenlik yaklaşımına geçişin sınırlarını zorlamaktadır. Bu çalışma, geleneksel güvenlik yaklaşımlarının dışında bir bakış açısı ile hem devletin hem de insanların güvenliğinin beraber sağlanmasının önündeki iki açmazı, güvenlik-demokrasi ve güvenlik istikrar ikilemlerini tartışmaya açıyor. Sadece teorik bir analiz sunmuyor, aynı zamanda Afganistan ve Suriye örneklerinde meseleyi inceliyor. Bu coğrafyalarda yaşanan güvenlik sorunlarının uluslararası dengelerin yanı sıra ülkelerin iç sorunlarından kaynaklandığını ileri süren çalışma, bölgedeki sorunlara bakışta okuyucuya yeni bir perspektif sunuyor. “Güvenliksizlik” ihraç etmekle itham edilen bu ülkelerdeki sorunun “kendi evlerine çeki düzen” verme sorunuyla ilintili olduğu alanda yapılan çalışmalarla desteklenerek açıklanıyor.

SETA PANEL Konuşmacı:     Elisabeth Özdalga     ODTÜ Sosyoloji Bölümü    Tarih: 25 Mart 2008 Salı Saat: 16.00 Yer: SETA, Ankara

The escalation in attacks by the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK) on Turkish troops and civilians has brought Turkey to the brink of war with the Kurdish authorities in northern Iraq. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Turkish prime minister, has declared that unless action is taken against the PKK, Turkey will act unilaterally. Despite the intensifying rhetoric, however, the crisis may be an opportunity to find a lasting solution to the Kurdish problem in Turkey and the region

We are currently living in a state of uncertainty under which we are not clear as to whether the expression “Turkey is having an election on July 22” is a mere assertion or a decision. Apparently not every decision to hold elections naturally leads to an election atmosphere.   

Turkey has a unique experience in state formation, in formulating state-religion relations, but some painful periods in its history regarding democratization. The military intervention on Sept. 12, 1980 suspended Turkey's fragile democracy and caused a breakdown in party politics by banning all political parties and sending their leaders to trial. The first election after the military coup in 1983 was a turning point in Turkish political history, and the election results and subsequent government policies under Turgut Ozal's premiership changed the course of Turkish political culture for decades to come. Ozal's center-right liberal-conservative Motherland Party (then called ANAP, now ANAVATAN) launched a liberalization and democratization policy in Turkey, which facilitated the expression of Islam in the public sphere to a greater degree than before. As part of its policy, the government deleted Articles 141, 142 and 163 of the Constitution to lift obstacles to freedom of thought. ANAP also adopted a free market economy through a large-scale privatization movement.