The Turkey Analyst

Vol. 1 no. 5, 23 April 2008

ANALYSIS

Will Clinging to the EU and Atatürk Save the AKP?
Just as it has been faced with the threat of dissolution, the AKP’s faith in Europe has been rekindled. More remarkably, the party is even clinging to the Atatürk legacy in an unprecedented way. The AKP’s change of heart is testimony to the party’s distress. Although displays of “kemalism”, in particular, are confusing, the new rhetoric has not convinced analysts that the party’s ideological orientation has been altered.

Between Political Crises: Turkey's Energy Policy
Realizing the rising need for the transportation of the Caspian Basin’s energy resources to world markets in the 1990s, Turkish decision-makers claimed that “Turkey should become an energy corridor and an energy hub for producer and consumer countries”. All recent governments have to different degrees supported this vision. Turkey’s energy hub prospects were boosted by the rapid developments in the Turkish economy, which created an increasing demand for energy resources, and forced the “Energy Strategy” to the focal point of political and bureaucratic circles.


NEWS DIGEST: THE FORTNIGHT IN REVIEW

I. What the Columnists Say
Turkish newspapers are bought as much for the writings of their columnists as for news. The writings of leading columnists are therefore an important indication of developments and moods in Turkey.

II. Domestic Politics
Summary: Much of the domestic debate was split between arguments over changes to Article 301 of the penal codes, with dissenting voices both from the opposition and within the ruling party; and the ongoing speculation of how the AKP will act to fend off the pending court case for its closure. Click here for full digest.

II. Foreign Relations
Summary: Foreign relations continued to be dominated by the international reaction to the court case against the ruling party and its effect on EU relations, particularly given EU Commission Barroso’s visit to Turkey. In other news, Armenia-Turkish relations fail to move forward, while Ankara, Baghdad and Washington discussed the PKK. Click here for full digest.

RECENT ISSUES:

April 9, 2008 issue: (Click HERE for PDF)
- What animates Turkey's secular opposition?
- Turkey and the EU: Beyond the Cyprus Imbroglio

March 26, 2008 issue: (Click HERE for PDF)
- Challenging Times for Turkey's Democracy
- Foreign Policy Implications of the Turkish Crisis

March 12, 2008 issue:
- Erdogan's Towering Role in the AKP

February 22, 2008 issue:
- Turkey in 2007: Key Developments
- Can Turkey's Regime Crisis be Diffused?

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 analyses appearing in the Turkey Analyst are unsigned, being the consensus view of the three Editors. The Turkey Analyst occasionally publishes signed guest analyses, which are normally solicited. To email the editors, click here.

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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