Turkey’s political interest in Africa has also prompted a diplomatic expansion. Turkey has increased its number of embassies on the continent from 12 in 2002 to 34 in 2013.

The AK Party wins the elections because it is the only party that is capable of running in all political districts in Turkey.

One of the reasons why political jargon is framed as if it were a general election is because of the Dec. 17 operation that caused local elections to be pushed out of its normal process.

While Islamophobia and conservative governments in Europe may be discouraging, Turkey must work with proponents of a more balanced relationship

It is the requirement of rational politics for Turkey to have economic and political cooperation with all countries, notably with her neighbors.

All of the Western media, having received their information from the same 20-30 top individuals, all of whom share the same point of view, paint a particular picture of Turkey.

The thesis of Turkey’s being isolated represents a reductionist approach as it simply focuses on the relations with Syria, Egypt and Israel, and rules out the heavy diplomacy conducted outside the Middle East.

The legitimate politics is being attacked by judicial “time bombs”. All the bombs were set in and at different locations and times, and have been exploded simultaneously on the eve of 2014, the year that is expected to be Turkey’s year of destiny.

The Gülen Movement was known for the cool-headed decisions it took at the risk of severe criticism during Turkey’s most difficult times. Today, it would be expected that the same movement will display a similar rationality in a changing Turkey.

We interviewed Insight Turkey Editor-in-chief Professor Talip Küçükcan on the accomplishments and the new editorial team of Insight Turkey and for his future projections of the journal.

The disagreement between Turkey and the US on the Syrian issue and the coup d’état in Egypt are contributing factors to increased criticism of Turkey in Washington.

The biggest obstacle that stands before Turkey’s democratization efforts today is nothing but the 1980 constitution, which was drafted based on the founding ideology after the coup.

Today, quite common verbal attacks against Turkey through the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) Undersecretary Hakan Fidan are directly related to the security architecture and the preferences thereof, the change in problem solving methods and the efforts to remain independent in foreign policy.

Both Egyptian and Turkish armies have wielded disproportionate influence on the political course of their respective countries. Their roles were not confined to security sectors, as expected from an army in a democratic political sphere.

The problem is a kind of “change fatigue” caused by constant changes rather than what this new change has brought.

In fact, the evidence suggests the contrary and that it is the Muslim democrats in the current government who initiated direct talks with the Kurds, the Alevis and the Roma people in Turkey for the first time in the Republic's history.