The Turkey Analyst

Vol. 1 no. 17, 7 November 2008

ANALYSIS



Turkey in the Security Council: What Role Could It Play?
M. K. Kaya
Turkey’s election to the United Nations Security Council represents a significant achievement for Turkish diplomacy. The fact that more than a hundred and fifty countries cast their votes for Turkey is evidence that the more diversified, multi-dimensional foreign policy pursued by the governing Justice and Development party, AKP, is paying off. However, the Turkish success in the UN portends a development that could eventually result in Turkey becoming less Western-oriented in its foreign policy.

Interview with Metin Heper
Halil Magnus Karaveli
Metin Heper is professor of politics at Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey. Heper has recently published an account of how the Turkish state has treated the Kurdish question, “The State and Kurds in Turkey – The question of assimilation” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2007). Professor Heper shared his views on the Kurdish question, about its history and about what the future may hold, with the Turkey Analyst.

NEWS DIGEST: THE FORTNIGHT IN REVIEW

I. What the Columnists Say
The question of how history is to be interpreted dominated the Turkish debate during the last fortnight. The celebration of the 85th anniversary of the republic, and in particular a new film about the founder of the republic, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, has given rise to a fierce debate that shows no signs of abating. The debate has once again revealed that Atatürk, 70 years after his death, is still a living figure that defines identities and causes great controversies. Can Dündar, a journalist and documentary film maker, declared that his intention with the film “Mustafa” was to humanize the founder of the republic, to portray him as an ordinary human being with ordinary flaws. The many critics of the film have above all objected that Dündar has distorted history, not least by portraying Atatürk as a cruel dictator. Finally, the resignation of the deputy party leader of the governing AKP, Dengir Mehmet Mir Firat, has generally been perceived as a sign that the AKP is taking a hard line nationalist stance in the Kurdish question.

II. Domestic News Digest

III. Foreign News Digest

The Turkey Analyst
The Turkey Analyst is a publication of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Joint Center, designed to bring authoritative analysis and news on the rapidly developing domestic and foreign policy issues in Turkey. It is published weekly, and includes a topical analysis, as well as translations and summaries of selected Turkish news reports. It is edited and compiled under the supervision of Svante E. Cornell, Halil M. Karaveli, and M. K. Kaya.

The Turkey Analyst occasionally publishes guest analyses, which are normally solicited. Submissions are nevertheless welcome.

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The Joint Center
The Joint Center, created in 2005, is the product of the merger of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, and the Silk Road Studies Program, at the Stockholm-based Institute for Security and Development Policy.

The Turkey Initiative
The Joint Center launched a Turkey Initiative in 2006 in order to improve understand of Turkish domestic and foreign affairs in Europe and the United States.

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