The Turkey Analyst

Vol. 3 no. 6, 30 March 2010

ANALYSIS

Turkey's Constitutional Amendments: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back
Gareth H. Jenkins
On March 22, Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) announced a package of 26 proposed changes to the country’s constitution, including a restructuring of the Constitutional Court and the Supreme Board of Prosecutors and Judges (HSYK).  Hailed as a major step towards full democratization and the harmonization of Turkish legislation with the requirements for EU accession by AKP supporters, the constitutional amendments are conversely criticized by the party’s opponents as an attempt by the AKP to seize control of the judicial system.

The Turkish Nationalist Opposition and Its Foreign Policy Views
Halil M. Karaveli and M. K. Kaya
Opinion polls in Turkey show that there is a very real possibility that the next general election may return one or two of the nationalist opposition parties, CHP and MHP to power. The nationalist opposition, together with strong resistance within the ruling AKP itself and the government’s mishandling of those initiatives, has in fact already helped force the AKP to abandon its openings to Armenia and to the Kurdish minority. A Turkey ruled by the secularist-nationalists would be more circumspect in its dealings with Muslim countries. Yet in a fundamental sense, the secularist-nationalists are, just like the current government, inclined to defy the West, strategically as well as ideologically.

What the Columnists Say
The question where Turkey is headed has acquired a new urgency with the proposal of the AKP government to amend the constitution. There is a consensus among liberal commentators that the changes are insufficient in addressing the issue of democratization. However, many liberals nevertheless welcome the amendments as a first, crucial step toward an eventual, comprehensive constitutional overhaul. The secularist-nationalists on the other hand decry the constitutional reform package as an attempt by the AKP to rid it of checks and balances.  

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NEW Silk Road Paper published

Between Fact and Fantasy: Turkey's Ergenekon Investigation, by Gareth H. Jenkins, August 2009.


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.

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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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