The opposition side has given start to a brand new campaign after the AK Party's landslide victory, in which Erdoğan and Davutoğlu are portrayed to be in administrational conflict.

Painters, gardeners, designers, administrative faculty and students have been working feverishly. A new “cover look” is being prepared for the University of Cairo. Today, everything is expected to look better, brighter, happier. 

President Abdullah Gül said it's a “historic opportunity” and called on everyone not to miss it. Prime Minister Erdoğan said “good things may happen.” Interior Minister Beşir Atalay confirmed that “some steps are being taken.” A few weeks earlier, the chief of general staff, İlker Başbuğ, outlined the military's vision on the problem and gave the most progressive speech by any top general.   

Everyone seems to agree that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan read the results of the March 29 elections right. The Cabinet reshuffle last week has created new momentum for the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government. Yet Erdoğan will have to do more to recapture the reformist spirit of the early years of his rule. 

 Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ delivered an unprecedented speech on Tuesday. Given its tone, arguments and scope, Başbuğ's speech may herald the beginning of a new era in civilian-military relations in Turkey

After back-to-back visits to Turkey by US Middle East envoy George Mitchell and secretary of state Hillary Clinton, Ahmet Davutoglu, a top adviser to Turkey's prime minister, predicted that Turkish-American relations were about to enter a golden era

Can the Turkish military be democratic? This is a crucial question for Turkish democracy and by extension for a number of chronic problems which have plagued Turkish society for decades

Last week, I discussed the three perceptions of threat regarding Islamic political parties and groups: they’re a threat to democracy, they’re a threat to Western interests, and they are violent. 

In a rather unprecedented cry of outrage, Prince Turki al-Faisal, one of the most prominent figures of the Saudi state, put it bluntly: If the US under the new Obama administration does not change its policy toward Israel and Palestine, the Saudis will no longer maintain their “special relationship” with the US (“Saudi Arabia’s patience is running out,” Financial Times, Jan. 23, 2009). Quoting from the Saudi king that his peace plan, called “the Arab peace initiative,” is still on the table, the prince added that “it would not remain there for long.” 

There are two main reasons for the Turkish outcry. First of all, Turkey has been acting as a facilitator between Israel and Syria over the last year or so. According to Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, the two sides were very close to moving to the next stage of direct talks. This would have been one of the most important breakthroughs in the Middle East in a long time. After the war on Gaza started, the Syrian-Israeli talks were suspended

There is a discrepancy and even contradiction between Turkey's foreign policy activism and the polarization of its domestic politics. While the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) keeps surprising everyone with its bold and decisive foreign policy moves, it is losing its grip on the domestic pulse.   

The two-day summit in Annapolis ended on 29 November, 2007. Israel and the Palestine Authority agreed to start a new peace initiative