FULL MEDIA ROUND-UP TURKEY – FEBRUARY 2014 – Turkish follos English
Graft Crisis – Corruption, the Government, the Cemaat: A Survey Ahmet Hakan draws attention to a survey conducted by the MetroPOLL Strategic and Social Research Center on the graft crisis.
Turkish Public Mark Rising Gloom and Mistrust Yavuz Baydar comments on “Turkey’s Pulse Research,” conducted by the MetroPOLL Strategic and Social Research Center.
Madness on the Bosphorus The Economist argues that “the prime minister’s attacks on foreign plotters may no longer convince voters.”
Turkey’s Wrong Turn The New York Times, in its editorial, suggests that the Obama administration should send a strong message about the damaging course Erdoğan is pursuing.
Graft Probes Could Become Strategic Issue for Turkey (1)–(2)–(3) Referring to the New York Times’ editorial, Murat Yetkin writes on the possible results of the insistence on blocking corruption probes.
How Should Washington React to Erdoğan? Ömer Taşpınar explains when Washington is usually much more willing to get involved in the domestic problems of a country.
Freedom in the World 2013/ Turkey Freedom House, in its newly issued 2013 report, writes that, “Civil liberties are at risk in Turkey.”
Is Democracy at Risk in Turkey? İhsan Dağı comments on Freedom House’s report on Turkey.
Analysis: Power of Turkey’s Fethullah Gulen Güney Yıldız writes on his interview with Fethullah Gülen for BBC Turkish.
Is the Fethullah Gülen Movement Overstretching Itself? A comprehensive analysis of the Gülen Movement by Günter Seufert.
“Well, You Were Saying Hizmet Is a Religious Movement?” Hüseyin Gülerce comments on an ongoing discussion regarding whether the Gülen Movement is a religious or a political movement.
Turkey Crisis Puts Jailed Millionaire at Heart of Gold-Smuggling Ring Mehul Srivastava itemizes Turkey’s gold traffic with Iran despite and amid the United States’ sanctions.
AK Party’s Wish to Regain Its ‘Lost’ Image İsmet Berkan writes: “It is not very easy for the government and the AK Party to go back to their ‘happy days.’”
Erdoğan’s Battle (1)–(2) Cafer Solgun argues that “the AK Party is a ‘ruling’ party that has lost its capacity to represent Turkey’s future.”
Turkish Government Once Loved the Specially Authorized Courts Özgür Korkmaz writes that “the AKP has increased its efforts to get rid of a problem it created: specially authorized courts.”
Erdoğan Accuses TUSIAD Chairman of Treason Kadri Gürsel argues that the government has a tendency to use its financial auditing powers to influence capital groups and politicians.
Why Does the Government Shoot the Messengers? According to Orhan Kemal Cengiz, accusing the TUSIAD Chairman of treason is nothing but “shooting a messenger.”
A Likely Boom in the Number of Traitors Sedat Ergin points out that “traitor” or “treason” have become the routine of Erdoğan’s political discourse.
As Crony Capitalism Collapses “The corruption investigation brought down the three-legged order of crony capitalism,” Mümtazer Türkönü argues.
“Parallel State” and “Theft of National Will” (1)–(2) Reflecting upon Erdoğan’s disacourses, Bilent Keneş asks “for God’s sake, who is the one stealing and deceiving the national will?”
Did You Say Blackmail? Ekrem Dumanlı, the CEO and Executive Editor-in-Chief of Zaman, responds to the AKP government’s accusations of a parallel state.
This Crisis Is Different; Here’s Why Markar Esayan analyzes the problems he believes Turkey is facing now.
What’s Happening in Turkey? “The Western media, having received their information from the same twenty to thirty top individuals, all of whom share the same point of view, paint a particular picture of Turkey,” Taha Özhan claims.
Is Society a Pack of Fools? Etyen Mahçupyan propounds that “this is a game in which the AKP will end up winning despite all adversities.”
Erdoğan Counts on Karaman’s Islamic Counsel Mustafa Akyol draws attention to Hayrettin Karaman, “the ruling AKP’s Islamic jurist of choice.”
Rise in Interest Rates
Talking Troubled Turkey “Turkey seems to be in serious trouble,” writes Paul Krugman.
Fears of Recession and Contagion Seyfettin Gürsel argues that “Krugman is right.”
“Fragile Five” Is the Latest Club of Emerging Nations in Turmoil Landon Thomas writes that recent turmoil has produced a rival expression for the BRICs countries—the Fragile Five.
Turkey’s Central Bank Aggressively Raises Rates “Turkey, seen by most investors as the most fragile of the Fragile Five, raised interest rates on Tuesday,” Landon Thomas reports.
Turkey’s Economy and Erdoğan’s Shame For Bloomberg,“‘dramatic’ is not an adjective often associated with central banking, yet it is the only word to use for what happened last night in Turkey.”
Turkey Loses Cachet As Emerging Market A top US economic expert argues that Turkey is no longer an emerging market, Çengiz Çandar relays.
Erdoğan Continues to Learn the Hard Way According to Semih İdiz, “it looks like the ‘interest rate lobby,’ so hated by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has won.”
Losing Rationality in Politics and the Economy In Turkey, “there are strong signals of rationality being lost,“ Gökhan Bacık writes.
The Conspiracy Card and Economic Woes Charlotte McPherson addresses non-Turkish readers who do not understand the swinging and swaying of Turkish politics and the economy.
White Bean and Potato Prices Soar, Signal Warning to Government Lale Kemal argues that the government’s shift in its policies seriously threatens the economic and political stability of Turkey
EU Relations
Reconcile with the EU, Fight Against TÜSİAD? “A responsible leader of a country does not label all of his opponents ‘traitors’ when they criticize the ruling power,” Serkan Demirtaş writes.
Hollande Visit Lost in Turkey’s Political Muddle Çengiz Çandar comments on French President François Hollande’s two-day visit to Ankara and Istanbul.
The Outlook for EU-Turkey Relations Nilgün Arısan Eralp analyses the status of Turkey’s EU accession negotiations from both a Turkish and EU perspective.
Kurdish Question
The Kurds’ Dangerous Game Nuray Mert argues that “the tacit alliance between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s (PKK) jailed leader, Abdullah Öcalan, and the government presents a risk.”
The Kurds’ Schizophrenic Week “For everyone, it is no longer rational to count on conflicts among the Kurds,” writes Verda Özer.
Geneva II Conference
A New Strategic Plan for Syria Doğu Ergil argues that “a new strategy for Syria is…soon to be declared to Ankara.”
Gevena II: Efforts to Advance on the Peace Front According to Hasan Kanbolat, “the talks in Geneva continue to be the only hope that at some time, a solution will emerge on the Syrian war front.”
Syrian Opposition Figure: Turkey’s “Many Mistakes” in Syria An interview with Samir Aita, the founder of the opposition Syrian Democratic Forum.
Syria Regime Not the Only One Accusing Turkey of Provoking Crisis Fehim Taştekin reports that several human rights organizations are preparing to accuse Turkey of provoking the war in Syria.
Turkey: A Victim of Imperial Overreach Lale Kemal argues that “Turkey has overestimated its strength and become a victim of its imperial overreach in Syria.”
The Middle East Challenge for Turkish Foreign Policy Hayreddin Aydınbaş writes that foreign policy approaches such as “zero problems with neighbors” or “precious isolation” are no longer functional.
Energy-Hungry Turkey
Turkey’s Energy Policy and the Future of Natural Gas Soner Çagaptay points out that “Turkey cannot become a regional energy player without first tending to its gas needs at home.”
Energy-Hungry Turkey Olgu Okumuş deliberates on the issue of energy in Turkey.
Shifting Dynamics in the Troubled Triangle between Ankara, Erbil, and Baghdad Emanuela Pergolizzi points to challenges standing in the way of peaceful trilateral cooperation.
Turkey As a Regional Natural Gas Hub: Myth or Reality? Simone Tagliapietra’s analysis of the regional gas market outlook, which he claims to be beyond the mainstream rhetoric.
Under the Shadow of International Sanctions Süleyman Elik examines Turkish-Iranian economic relations between 1996 and 2014.
Armenian Question
What Is Turkey’s 2015 Strategy? Putting some pieces together, Orhan Kemal Cengiz draws a picture of the strategy that Turkey will most probably follow for the hundredth anniversary of the Armenian genocide.
Why Is Turkish Writer Sevan Nisanyan in Jail? Orhan Kemal Cengiz underlines that the outspoken Armenian writer is the only Turkish citizen jailed for “construction infractions.”
Could Europe Have an Effect on the Armenian Question? According to Ahmet İnsel, “it is hard to say that the perspective of EU membership has a direct effect on relations between Armenia and Turkey.”
Other Pertinent Pieces
Citizenship, Minorities and the Struggle for a Right to the City in Istanbul Gülçin Erdi Lelandaisa provides a comparative analysis of urban transformation projects and protests against them.
The Legacy of World War I Continues to Linger İlter Turan traces some important domestic and regional questions Turkey currently encounters back to the World War I and its aftermath.
Further Publishing :
From Oriental Nightingales to Peace Pigeons
The Not-So-Tangled Web of Tear Gas Manufacturers
Proverbs, Politics, and Paris: An Interview with Nancy Kricorian
Ismail Besikci and the Reality of Kurdistan
Towards the End of a Dream? The Erdoğan-Gülen Fallout and Islamic Liberalism’s Descent