On the Eve of the Presidential Campaign

Whatever happens in the presidential elections and the general elections that will follow, the Turkish economy is robust against political uncertainties and international pressures.

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On the Eve of the Presidential Campaign
The Presidential Election Three Names Two Candidates

The Presidential Election: Three Names Two Candidates

There are three presidential candidates, but actually only two of them are running and the other one keeps saying that "he will not be involved in politics."

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The hundreds of policemen who were arrested on July 22 tell a valuable story about the past six years: a story of how things can get out of hand when the police, prosecutors and judges join forces.

The rationale behind Turkey's policies reflecting its cultural capital, in turn, relates to the country's redefinition of its national interests, which manifest themselves in the form of Turkey's strong reactions against the military junta in Egypt and Israeli oppression in Gaza.

Erdogan’s presidential victory highlights that despite Turkey’s polarisation over the Kemalist era's legacy – the vast majority see him as the best route towards a modern, prosperous society.

Erdoğan's timely, direct and proactive moves reduced the time span of Turkey's normalization and democratization, and promoted economic stability.

Turkey's Emerging Power Politics

The 62nd government that was formed last week undoubtedly carried Erdoğan's seal as the majority of the previously-appointed ministers kept their posts.

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Turkey's Emerging Power Politics
What Do Kurdish Nationalists Want

What Do Kurdish Nationalists Want?

The HDP's call for supporters to rally on the streets raises serious doubts regarding its commitment to the reconciliation process.

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The riots during the first week of October did not only hurt the reconciliation process, it may also endanger public support for the process itself.

Political scientists from Turkey and Morocco gathered to analyze the issues that both the region and the two countries face.

Turkey takes a new historic opportunity to settle the Kurdish question after two previous initiatives failed in 2005 and 2009. To this end, the “2013 Reconciliation Process” aims to eradicate the armed-conflict and violence and sets the ground for dialogue, politics, peace and calm for a solution. The process has been launched after the talks between the National Intelligence Organization of Turkey (MIT) Director, Hakan Fidan, and the leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Abdullah Öcalan, who has been confined to the İmralı Island. It is of historic and vital importance for Turkey’s transformation into a global actor, and introduces a step-by-step strategical road map that needs to be followed very carefully.

“The PKK, or the Kurdish question, is an international issue… It is playing with other actors, cooperating with other actors.”

Turkey could not manage to stay out of the new Syria-centered cold war environment despite all its efforts. There are three important reasons for this.

The two key elements behind the success of settlement processes are strong leadership and the perpetuity of the involved actors

The future of Turkish-Serbian bilateral relations was discussed at a conference entitled "Turkey and Serbia in the 21st Century" in Belgrade, Serbia.

As the HDP lacks necessary experience to focus on religion and popular demands in their election campaigns, it is impossible for the Kurdish political movement to compete with the AK Party at the national level

The coming two weeks will demonstrate the intricacies and difficulties of forming a coalition and the most likely scenario seems to be going to early elections in the next two months.

The opposition parties have come to accept that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the AK Party's founder and the mastermind behind the past decade's transformation, will remain a prominent figure in the political arena.

The PKK is threatened by the rise of politicians' influence over Kurdish citizens, which means the terrorist organization will eventually lose its presence in the region.

While being politically restricted by the PKK's ending the cease-fire to cancel the reconciliation process, the HDP, again because of the terrorist organization, is losing those who voted for them in hopes of peace.

The rising tide of PKK violence and the Cizre episode leaves ordinary citizens questioning what the Kurdish community wants.