PKK's Trenches: An Existential Crisis
The PKK faces an existential crisis of having unleashed hell on Turkey's Kurds, the organization finds it increasingly difficult to fuel nationalist sentiments by expanding its territory in Syria.
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Who Rejoices Because of the Paris Massacre?
Accusing Islam of the attacks in Paris rather than DAESH, the terrorist organization, with no association whatsoever to the religion itself, will only serve to further spread Islamophobia, not end terrorism.
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It appears that the matter of struggle against the PKK will continue to be the primary issue on the political agenda. At this point, the attitude the HDP will take is of the utmost importance.
The most important issue facing the AK Party, and of course the Parliament that has been shaped by the Nov. 1 elections, is the writing up of a new, civilian constitution.
In harshly criticizing the foreign policy implemented by the ruling AK Party, the CHP assumes that Turkey can simply avoid problems around itself while pledging to bring peace to a competitive and chaotic region
In modern democratic politics, one of the most effective instruments of attracting electoral support is extending pledges for better macroeconomic governance and improvement of social welfare.
What Do We Learn From Violence?
The diversified nature of the rioters, and the beginning of the use of violence by these groups, as seen by their destruction of public and private property and the killing of members of the HÜDA PAR, raised questions about the protests.
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On The Reconciliation Process
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.
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The reconciliation process has been one of the vital components of Turkey's economic ascendancy in the last decade through its major support mechanism for politico-economic stability and improved relations with neighboring countries in the Middle East.
The HDP's call for supporters to rally on the streets raises serious doubts regarding its commitment to the reconciliation process.
Turkey is going through challenging times from a number of angles, but fortunately, there is sufficient political and administrative capacity as well as crisis management experience to overcome these challenges.
The Kurdish political movements in both Syria and Turkey should give up being pragmatists in order to have pragmatic gains. The Kurdish political movements should also give up being opportunists in order to benefit from the opportunities in the region.
In the future, the 2014 presidential election in Turkey will serve as an oftencited example of the difference between political engineering and genuine politics.
The Demirtaş campaign serves the Kurdish political movement's efforts to turn an ethnically-oriented, regional political party into a national force and to reach out to non-Kurdish voters - which is why they recently established the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP).
As a government-sponsored bill rekindles the Kurdish peace process, religious Muslims and the Kurdish political movement join forces to challenge Turkeys old ways and usher in a new period in the nations history.
Whatever happens in the presidential elections and the general elections that will follow, the Turkish economy is robust against political uncertainties and international pressures.
A series of meetings, talks and statements since then, coupled with last weekend's workshop in Diyarbakır, indicate that the talks have either entered or are on the verge of a new stage.
The peace process has so far led the movement to prioritize political participation over armed struggle as part of a broader notion of seeking representation as a left party with ethnic overtones.
The opposition's pursuit of a unity candidate, already plagued with a number of practical problems, also goes against the nature of democratic politics by alienating the AK Party and promoting further polarization in Turkish politics.
The opposition parties neither signal a structural and managerial change in their parties nor offer a different vision for the future in the event they lose the March 30 elections.
In other words, extra-parliamentary forces working against the government have effectively resulted in Erdoğan's association with democracy, the ballot box and popular will.
