SETA Washington D.C. hosted FM of the Republic of Turkey His Excellency Ahmet Davutoglu. Davutoglu delivered a keynote speech entitled " Principles of Turkish Foreign Policy" followed by a panel discussion on "Changing Direction? Discussing Turkish Foreign Policy" featuring Taha Ozhan, Director General of SETA Foundation, Cengiz Candar, Senior Columnist for Radikal Newspaper, Prof. Bulent Aras of SETA Foundation, and Prof. Fuat Keyman of Koc University. December 8, 2009 Grand Ballroom, Mayflower Hotel, Washington D.C. 12.15pm EST

Today, genetically modified organism (GMO) foods are front and center in the discussion on food sustainability. While some allege that interfering in the genetic makeup of food items such as corn and wheat will be a hazard to human health and jeopardize the future of humankind, others view GMO foods as a ray of hope for impoverished nations. Claims that the world’s population is growing rapidly and that the world’s current food stock will not be able to meet the demands of this new population also affect the debate. Undoubtedly poverty and hunger are significant and life-threatening issues for human beings, and history provides evidence that starvation has wiped out entire generations, permanently transforming the demographic makeup of the earth.

SETA PUBLIC LECTURE  By Joshua W. Walker Transatlantic Academy / Princeton University Date: October 22, 2009 Thursday Time: 17.00 – 18.30 Venue: SETA, Ankara  RSVP: Umare Yazar, Tel: 405 61 51 * 207 P.S.: The language of the lecture will be English.  No translation services will be provided.

SETA CONFERNCE By  Eduard Soler and Fadela Hilali  The CIDOB Foundation Mediterranean Programme Date: January 22, 2009 Thursday  Time: 10.00 – 12.00 Venue: SETA Foundation, Ankara

Sharing power is never easy. Politics thrives on accumulating more power. Empires are built around it. You can defeat your opponents by stick or by carrot, but either way you need power.

On Monday, the Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) highest body announced the party's strategy for the closure case opened against it.

With the court case against the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) officially started, Turkey has entered a new period of political uncertainty.

The debate over lifting the headscarf ban has turned into a larger debate about freedoms in Turkey. While the vast majority of Turks support the expansion of civil liberties, there seems to be a fundamental disagreement as to how freedoms should be prioritized. The problem with this is that until and unless the question of freedoms is taken as a whole, there will be no guarantee for civil liberties in Turkey.

Freedom of religion and worship is a fundamental human right that everyone should enjoy regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality or religious preference. The right to follow a particular religion and practice its rituals is recognized as legitimate by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights.

The short-term winner of the July 22 elections is the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) but the big winner is the traditional periphery of Turkish society. The AK Party’s challenge now is to turn this victory into an asset for those who voted for the party. And this means electing a president who will not be a disappointment for the vast majority of the public.

The Turkish general elections are set to take place this Sunday. If there is no major disruption at the last moment, we should expect a “normal” election. But can Turkish politics normalize after the stakes have been raised to almost irrational levels?

The expectation from the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) when it came to power in 2002 was that political discussions would be shaped by internal agenda issues.

The deadlock created by the discussions on judicial independence and impartiality during the presidential election process and the extension of the discussions to the realm of fundamental rights and freedoms with a particular reference to the headscarf issue drew attention to what policy the AK Party would pursue to address these issues in the new term.  

CONFERENCE     February 8, 2007 German Marshall Fund, Washington DC