The Turkey Analyst

Vol. 3 no. 16, 27 September 2010

ANALYSIS

Turkish-American Military Partnership Endures, But Ankara is Less Deferential to Washington
Richard Weitz
The drawing down of the U.S. military presence in Iraq is set to remove a source of tension between Turkey and the United States. The two military establishments, whose longstanding ties have been strained by diverging changes in U.S. and Turkish national security policies in recent years, are eager to avoid further public confrontations. But since the Turkish government has begun exploring new partnerships with former adversaries, Washington policy makers should not have excessive confidence regarding U.S. leverage in Ankara, despite the continuing close ties between their two military establishments.

The Impact Of Turkey’s Constitutional Amendment Will Depend On The Implementation
Oskar Taxén
The recently approved constitutional amendment in Turkey  has been hailed by many as  a democratic reform but concurrently been assailed as an abrogation of the principle of separation of powers. However, from a strictly legal point of view the impact of the amendment is most uncertain. Although it does contain principles that promote democratization,  much will depend on the implementation. The package will require amendments to approximately 200 laws and the outcome of this process remains uncertain.

What the Columnists Say
In the wake of the September 12 referendum on constitutional amendment, several commentators have observed that the greatest loser of the referendum was the ultra right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). A significant portion of the core base of the MHP shifted over to the yes-side, defying the party leadership that had campaigned for a rejection of the constitutional amendment on the ground that the ruling Justice and development party (AKP) needed to be punished for its Kurdish opening. The outcome of the referendum is generally interpreted as an indication that the electorate of Turkey wants change and prefers a moderate stance on the Kurdish issue.

RECENT ISSUES: CLICK HERE FOR ARCHIVES

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.

The Turkey Analyst welcomes article submissions.

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.

To Subscribe:
To subscribe to the Turkey Analyst email announcements, please contact Martina Klimesova with an email containing "subscribe Turkey Analyst" in the subject line.