The Turkey Analyst

Vol. 2 no. 5, 13 March 2009

ANALYSIS

Government Pride and Populism Threaten to deepen Recession in Turkey
Gareth Jenkins
When the global financial crisis sent economies around the world into a tailspin, officials from Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party, AKP insisted that the country would remain unaffected. One of the reasons appeared to be a simple refusal to acknowledge that anything negative could happen to the Turkish economy while the AKP was in government. Another seems to have been a reluctance to introduce austerity measures in the run-up to the local elections of March 29, 2009. There is a danger that the combination of pride and political short-termism could both deepen the impending economic recession in Turkey and threaten the social and political fabric of the country.

Turkey's Ambiguous Role as a Bridge between the West and the Muslim World
M. K. Kaya and Halil M. Karaveli
According to conventional wisdom in Europe and the United States, Turkey is a “bridge” between the Muslim world and the West, and has been a reliable Western ally for half a century. However, from a Western point of view, recent developments create concerns about Turkey’s direction. It remains to be seen whether President Barack Obama’s administration will be able to rejuvenate the Turkish-American alliance, hurting since 2003, or whether developments in Turkey lead to a fundamentally new situation.

NEWS DIGEST: THE FORTNIGHT IN REVIEW

I. What the Columnists Say
The visit of U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton to Turkey and the announcement that President Barack Obama as well will be visiting Turkey in April, has been widely commented by the columnists in the Turkish press. Generally, there are two, divergent interpretations of what these visits might imply for the future trajectory of Turkish-American relations and for Turkey’s internal political evolution. Secularist commentators tend to interpret the U.S. administration as lending support for Turkish secularism, while pro-government commentators see the policies of the AKP as vindicated by the importance accorded to Turkey by the United States.

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NEW Silk Road Paper published

Prospects for a 'Torn' Turkey: A Secular and Unitary Future?, by Svante E. Cornell and Halil M. Karaveli, October 2008.


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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