Less than one week ahead of the US presidential election, Turkish-US relations and Turkey's role in its neighboring regions were the subject of a one-day conference organized by the SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research and the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.

How much can an election reveal the deeper issues dividing a country? Certainly, the 2008 US elections are putting out so much about the vices and virtues of American society that a close examination of certain trends and discourses over the last three months can save you years of arduous study at a serious academic institution.

First it was a devastating attack in Dağlıca. Now it is Aktütün. And countless other attacks occurred in between. Outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorism is back.

A new Pew report has brought alarming news: Anti-Jewish and anti-Muslim attitudes are on the rise in Europe. While the negative view of Muslims is higher than that of Jews, there is an interesting correlation between the two.

BBC covered the story as a "landmark visit to Armenia." CNN called it "football diplomacy." French President Nicolas Sarkozy applauded the visit as "courageous and historic."

Speaking to Milliyet columnist Fikret Bila, Prime Minister Erdoğan stated that Turkey is being forced to take sides in the Georgian conflict.

‘İmparatorluk’ kavramı tabiatı gereği çoğu zaman radikal tartışmaların konusu olmuş, genel anlamda ise sol lügate mal edilmiş ya da terk edilmiştir. Akademik dünya imparatorluk kavramına hem siyasal hem de sol tabiatından dolayı mesafeli durmayı tercih etmiş, çoğu kez de kavramı kullananları mahkûm etme yolunu tercih etmiştir. Benzer şekilde ‘Amerikan İmparatorluğu’ tartışmalarında aynı sesler yükselmektedir. Son dört yıla iki emperyal işgal sığdıran Amerikan İmparatorluğu tartışmalarında aynı ‘dil ve diyalektik’ çatışması, Amerika’nın ne olduğu, imparatorlukların bitip bitmediğinin ve yeni bir hegemonya tanımının Amerika merkezli yapılıp yapılamayacağının sorulduğu entelektüel ortamın canlanmasını sağlamış oldu. Amerikan İmparatorluğunun sosyal ve siyasal paradigmasını, dolayısıyla bugün sıcak bir şekilde idrak ettiğimiz Amerika fenomenini çözümlememiz de bu modern devir imparatorluğunun jeostratejisinin ve jeoekonomisinin  köklerine inmekle mümkündür.

In no period of recorded history have human beings known about different cultures as much as we do. Thanks to the pervasive nature of globalization, what happens in Washington, London or France has an immediate impact on what positions are taken in Istanbul, Cairo or Kuala Lumpur. Our global public space is so powerful yet also so elusive that it leads many to believe that more information brings more understanding. Getting to know each other from close up, however, is not always a smooth and easy experience. It may result in some pleasant surprises and enriching experiences. Yet it may also result in disappointment, frustration and mistrust. In the current state of relations between Muslim and Western societies, we are doomed when we refuse to recognize each other in one way or another. Yet, we also run up against tremendous difficulties when we show the courage and honesty of knowing each other closely for there is too long a history of doubt, mistrust and refusal.

What do Turks in Europe think about the European Union identity? How do they define the EU? How do they see the image of Turkey in Europe? How far do they support Turkey's EU membership? Are they prepared to contribute to Turkey's efforts for full membership? This article will address such questions based on research findings surveying 100 Turkish civil associations in the Netherlands.

Current developments and recent social and cultural transformations under the forces of globalization indicate that the prophecy of traditional secularization thesis seems to have failed to capture the ongoing influence of religion. Proponents of secularization thesis established an unavoidable and casual connection between the beginning of modernity and the decline of traditional forms of religious life. Generally speaking theorists of secularization process argued that religion would lose its influence on social and political life once the society absorbs the values and institutions of modernization. For B. Wilson for example “secularization relates to the diminution in the social significance of religion”. L. Shiner on the other hand, argued that the culmination of secularization would be religionless society.

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.

Many observers fail to see the unique position of Turkey concerning state, society and religion mainly because they concentrate on recent reports in the mass media which usually focus on tensions and fears. Therefore analysis on these issues only touches the surface and fails to grasp the persistent multidimensional modern Turkey. Turkey occupies a unique place among modern nation states. Not only from a geopolitical point of view, but also from cultural and religious points of view. Turkey lies at the crossroads between Eastern and Western interests. The political and cultural identity of modern Turkey emerged under the influence of domestic and external forces that existed in and around Turkey throughout the centuries. Since modern Turkey was established on the remains of the Ottoman Empire, periods of conflict and cooperation between Turkey and other political entities, such as Europe and the Middle East, have led to the development of the modern Turkish state and influenced its move toward modernization.

There is a growing Muslim population in the very heart of Europe, where states are largely secular. Secularized European social life, political culture and the public sphere are all facing an enormous challenge of accommodating a relatively religious Muslim citizens coming from different Muslim countries. Despite settling in Europe and getting socialized here, many Muslims attach great importance to their sacred and religious values, trying to express their demands and identities in the public sphere.

Turks in Germany are no longer transitory gastarbeiter (guest worker) people but de facto settlers in Germany, despite the dominant official political discourse that constantly reiterates that Germany is not a country of immigration. The parameters of this political discourse are based on an ethnocentric interpretation of citizenship and nationhood in Germany, which emphasizes volknation, a cultural nation, and leads to the political exclusion of ethnic minorities.

Avrupa tarihi "öteki" ile yaşam tecrübesi konusunda sorunlarla doludur. Farklı dil, din ve ırklarla ortak ve birlikte yaşam sürme konusunda Avrupa'nın zengin bir deneyimi olduğu söylenemez. Bu nedenle farklı ve yabancı olanlar, topluma sonradan eklemlenenlere kuşku ile bakıldı. Avrupa tarihi bu açıdan bakıldığında büyük trajedilere de sahne oldu. Örneğin Almanya'da Avrupa'nın "ötekisi" olarak Yahudiler, 20. yüzyılın en büyük soykırımıma maruz kaldı. Avrupa'da zaman zaman nükseden Antisemitizmi önlemek için yasak düzenlemeler getirildi, ancak bu konuda kitlesel bilinç değişikliği yeterli düzeyde olmadığı ve "öteki" ile birlikte yaşama kültürü yeterince içselleştirilemediği için bugün bile antisemitizmin kökenleri kazınamadı.20. yüzyılın ikinci yarısından itibaren Avrupa'nın sosyal, demografik ve dini manzarasını değiştiren yeni gruplar da topluma eklemlenmeye başladı. Renkleri, dilleri ve dinleri farklı olan bu gruplar arasında en görünür ve belirgin olan Müslümanlar, Avrupa'nın yeni "ötekileri" olarak algılanmaya başlandı.

Islam is the fastest growing religion in the world. Today there are increasing numbers of Muslim diasporic communities in Europe. Since 9/11 Islam and Muslim communities were put under the spotlight and public gaze. Although numerous publications hit the bookshelves, a number of ill informed analyses of Islam and approaches to Muslim communities still dominate the popular public opinion in the West. Misperceptions about Islam and Muslims in particular gave rise to the essentialist views of this faith and its followers as fundamentalist, pro-violence, uncompromising and anti-Western. It is time to challenge the monolithic perception of Muslims in Europe and argue that Turkish Muslims constitute a changing diasporic community defying clichés and common stereotypes about Muslims. The Turkish community in Europe is part of the emerging ‘European Islam’ and has its own diversity in the expression of Turkish-Muslim identity.

Awareness of the importance of civil society institutions increased among Turks in Europe after the mid 1980’s. Membership volume of Turkish civil organizations, their areas of activities and relations with other institutions suggest that Turks internalized values of civil society and are increasingly getting integrated in the Dutch society. Interests of Turks in civil society organizations and civil values as well as focus of their political preferences are an indication of social integration. The primary focus of Turks in the Netherlands is political questions in this country rather than Turkey. They are interested in issues such as political participation and representation in their host country since they want to lead a harmonious life with the society in this country.The current study indicates that Holland is at the heart of the activities of Turkish civil organizations. Majority of the organizations in the sample carry out their activities in Holland either on local or national level. This trend is an indication for the efforts and willingness of Turks who would like to integrate in the larger society. Research results also show that Turks don’t want to live in cultural ghettos isolated from rest of the society with walls of discrimination but they want to lead a social life in harmony with the Dutch society far from conflicts but without losing their own identity.