CIAO DATE: 02/2009
Volume: 9, Issue: 1
January - March 2007
Researching Turkey: Activities, trajectories and reconfigurations
Leonard Stone
Within the context of political narratives, this paper surveys the major contours of research on the Republic of Turkey. It looks at research spaces and research directions, or trajectories and at particular contentious spaces – e.g. the concept of national interest. The article further highlights the difference between realist accounts and multidisciplinary models of understanding and interpretation, the interconnectivity of academia and bureaucracy and then proceeds to reconfigure (remap) the Middle East within a Greater Eurasia. Throughout there is an emphasis on shifting context(s). Turkey's own relations with the Middle East are referenced, as are a number of selected research obstacles. The conclusion focuses on key markers in socio-political research into the Republic.
The Decline of Turkish-American Relations under the Bush Administration and Opportunities for the Final Two Years
Melissa Maxey
Turkey and the United States are close historic allies. Turkish-American relations have, of course, not been perfect. Two main issues have caused small problems throughout the duration of the partnership. Yet the relationship did begin to change under the administration of American President George W. Bush. The United States must shift its policy toward Turkey to stop the downward direction of relations. It must respond to Turkish internal and external pressures. To succeed it needs to work towards resolutions of current and past problems and allow Turkey to fully develop its own leadership role and position as a prominent member of the Europe and the Middle East.
Testimony for Mr. Daniel Fata, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Europe and NATO U.S. House of Representatives House Committee on Foreign Affairs
Daniel Fata
What follows is the text of the testimony by Daniel Fata, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Europe and NATO on March 15, 2007.
Political Islam in Turkey
Senem Aydin, Rusen Cakir
Turkey differs from the Arab states studied in the CEPS–FRIDE Political Islam project in not only in having a European Union membership prospect, but also in the fact that a broadly Islamist-oriented party has been in office since 2002. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) still enjoys the primary support of pro-Islamic constituencies in Turkish society and its orientation towards the EU has not changed since its assumption of power. An overwhelming majority in the party still sees the EU as the primary anchor of Turkish democracy and modernization despite the inferred limitations of cooperation on issues relating to the reform of Turkish secularism. Yet the growing mistrust towards the EU as a result of perceived discrimination and EU double standards is beginning to cloud positive views within the party. Decreasing levels of support for EU membership in Turkish society and the fact that explicitly Euro-sceptic positions are now coming from both the left and the right of the political spectrum suggest that the sustainability of the pro-European discourse within the party could be difficult to maintain in the longer run.
Building Moderate Muslim Networks
Angel Rabasa, Cheryl Benar, Lowell H. Schwartz, Peter Sickle
Radical and dogmatic interpretations of Islam have gained ground in recent years in many Muslim societies. Aside from a willingness to resort to violence to compel fellow Muslims to conform to their religious and political views, radicals enjoy two critical advantages over moderate and liberal Muslims. The first is money. Saudi funding for the export of the Wahhabi version of Islam over the last three decades has had the effect, whether intended or not, of promoting the growth of religious extremism throughout the Muslim world. The radicals' second advantage is organization. Radical groups have developed extensive networks over the years, which are themselves embedded in a dense net of international relationships.
In this report we describe, first, how network building was actually done during the Cold War—how the United States identified and supported partners and how it attempted to avoid endangering them. Second, we analyze the similarities and the differences between the Cold War environment and today's struggle with radical Islamism and how these similarities and differences affect U.S. efforts to build networks today. Third, we examine current U.S. strategies and programs of engagement with the Muslim world. Finally, informed by the efforts of the Cold War and previous RAND work on the ideological tendencies in the Muslim world, we develop a "road map" for the construction of moderate Muslim networks and institutions. A key finding of this report—which one of our reviewers notes is particularly important—is that the U.S. government and its allies need, but thus far have failed, to develop clear criteria for partnerships with authentic moderates. The net result, already visible, is the discouragement of truly moderate Muslims.
Iraq and the Kurds: Resolving the Kirkuk Crisis
International Crisis Group
The International Crisis Group is an independent, non-profit, non-governmental organization, with over 130 staff members on five continents, working through field-based analysis and high-level advocacy to prevent and resolve deadly conflict.
Northern Iraq and its Neighbors: The regional dimension of the Kurdish question
Ole Frahm
Northern Iraq has seen ethnic mobilization and violent political conflict since the creation of the current state system in the interwar period. Throughout this period, Iraq's Kurds have rejected attempts of various governments to assimilate and absorb them into their pan-Arab ideologies. The underlying fear on behalf of Turkey's government is that an independent Kurdistan would have an osmotic effect and automatically strengthen irredentist and pan-Kurdish segments and sentiments among Turkish Kurds and in a worst case scenario lead to a renewed intra-state conflict between separatists and the state on the scale of the early 1990s.
Syria's Relations with Iraq
Syrian diplomacy, crowned last November by the re-establishment of bilateral relations and in January by the first state visit of an Iraqi president to Syria in nearly 30 years, seeks to promote Damascus's strategic interests amidst Iraq's continuing violence. Syria initially favored the "managed chaos" that characterized Iraq in the several months following the U.S. invasion because it kept U.S. troops "pinned down" and therefore unlikely to invade Syria. However, the past year's dramatic escalation in sectarian violence, coupled with fears of Iraq's potential disintegration, has impelled Syria to seek greater stability in Iraq. In particular, Damascus has signaled its displeasure with Iraqi Kurdish autonomy, which has emboldened Syria's Kurdish population, estimated at 1.7 million.
Turkey, Cyprus and the European Division
Rebecca Bryant
More than three years after the opening of the ceasefire line that divides Cyprus, the island is closer than ever to rupture. When the Green Line first opened in April 2003, there was an initial period of euphoria, as Cypriots flooded in both directions to visit homes and neighbors left unwillingly behind almost three decades before. But a year later, when a UN plan to reunite the island came to referendum, new divisions emerged. While Turkish Cypriots voted in favor of the plan, their Greek Cypriot compatriots rejected it in overwhelming numbers. Visits stalled, and today social relations are mired in an increasingly divisive politics.
The Cyprus Policy of the CHP: Change or Continuation?
Seckin Baris Gulmez
This work will discuss the views of the current main opposition party in Turkey on Cyprus problem focusing on the three main areas of criticisms raised by the party officials. Accordingly, in comparison with the policies adopted by its predecessors, the article will try to find an answer to the question whether the Cyprus policy of today's CHP constitute a change from or continuation of those of the CHP in the past.
What Turkey teaches about democracy
Melkulangara Kumaran Bhadrakumar
The 85-year-old Turkish state finds itself at a crossroads. But the implications of Erdoğan's final choice go far beyond Turkey's borders. Turkey's standing as a regional powerhouse, its strategic location as a bridge between Europe and the Middle East, its historical and cultural heritage in the Muslim world – all these are bound to come into play in the coming months. The crucial importance of what is unfolding in Turkey lies in that, to quote former Israeli foreign minister Shlomo Ben-Ami in a recent article, "Engaging political Islam will need to be the central part of any successful strategy for the Middle East. Instead of sticking to doomsday prophecies of categorical perspectives that prevent an understanding of the complex fabric of Islamic movements, the West needs to keep the pressure on the incumbent regimes to stop circumventing political reform."
Security Structure of the Black Sea Region in the Context of New Challenges
Selcuk Colakoglu
This paper aims at investigating the security environment of the Black Sea region. It firstly reviews regional organizations and their security agendas. The Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) is the most organized and largest regional organization in the region. Non-regional organization, namely NATO and the EU, both of which pursue their respective security agendas in the Black Sea region will be dealt with afterwards. NATO has its own policy of penetration toward the Black Sea region. The EU is the dominant economic and political organization which also aims to enlarge in the Black Sea region. Finally, the security environment of the Black Sea region will be examined in view of the BSEC, NATO and EU.