The Turkey Analyst

Vol. 3 no. 19, 8 November 2010

ANALYSIS

Changing of the Guard: Judicial Reforms Reinforce Concerns about the AKP’s Increasing Authoritarianism
Gareth H. Jenkins
The restructuring of the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), which is responsible for appointments and disciplinary procedures in the Turkish judicial system, was one of the key reforms in the package of constitutional amendments which were approved in a referendum on September 12, 2010. During the referendum campaign, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) claimed that the restructuring of bodies such as the HSYK and the Constitutional Court were prerequisites for the establishment of what it termed an “independent judiciary”. The reformed HSYK held its first meeting on October 25, 2010. Yet both its composition and its initial decisions have reinforced, rather than allayed, growing concerns both about the politicization of judicial processes in Turkey and the increasing authoritarianism of the AKP.

The Leader of the “New CHP” Faces Daunting Challenge as He Sets Out to Reconcile Kemalism with Freedom
Halil M. Karaveli
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the leader of the Republican People’s party (CHP), Turkey’s main opposition party, has now decisively taken charge of the party. He signals that a departure from old, ideological habits is impending and vows that the “New CHP” will introduce freedom. However, there is a fateful disconnect between Kılıçdaroğlu’s message and the resentments of the core constituency of his party. Kılıçdaroğlu will have difficulty escaping the fate that is usually reserved for well-meaning reformers who challenge the certainties of ossified belief systems.

What the Columnists Say
The suicide bombing in Istanbul on October 31, for which TAK, a terrorist group generally believed to be connected to the PKK, assumed responsibility, raised concerns among commentators that the peace process that has gotten underway between the Turkish state and the Kurdish PKK risked being endangered. While some commentators speculated that the act had been carried out at the behest of the “deep state”, others suggested that the bombing pointed to divisions within the PKK. The power struggle within the Republican People’s party (CHP) was widely commented. The commentators were divided over the implications of the changes in the leadership of the CHP. While some entertain the hope that the CHP is about to shed old, Kemalist ways, others predict that the effort is destined to fail.

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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.

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.

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