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1961. From Imperial Geography to Everyday Geopolitics

Author:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Publication Date:
07-2013
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:
The paper presents the results of three meetings co-organized by the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) Foreign Policy Programme (FPP) and the The PeaceResearch Institute Oslo (PRIO) Cyprus Centre. The workshops, held in Tbilisi, Istanbul and the buffer zone in Nicosia, discussed the policies followed by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the former imperial geography and noted current expectations from the Middle East, the Balkans, and the Caucasus.
Topic:
International Relations, Foreign Policy, Geopolitics, and Economy
Political Geography:
Turkey and Middle East

1962. Military, Police and Intelligence in Turkey: Recent Transformations and Needs for Reform

Author:
Biriz Berksoy
Publication Date:
05-2013
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:
“Military, Police and Intelligence in Turkey” is the fourth report of TESEV’s Security Sector and Democratic Oversight series and was authored by Istanbul University Professor Biriz Berksoy. The report puts forward persisting problems regarding accountability and civilian democratic oversight of the security institutions in Turkey; discusses the implications of these problems in light of recent developments, particularly regarding human rights violations; and highlights a series of legal, institutional and strategic reforms that should be undertaken to address the existing problems in this field.
Topic:
Security, Human Rights, Intelligence, Military Affairs, Reform, Democracy, and Police
Political Geography:
Turkey and Middle East

1963. Policy Suggestions For Free and Independent Media in Turkey

Author:
Ceren Sözeri and Dilek Kurban
Publication Date:
03-2013
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:
Research carried out in Turkey in the frame of the MEDIADEM project, which seeks to identify the policy processes, tools and instruments that can best support media freedom and independence in the country, showed that the media in Turkey has always been in a relationship of interdependence with political power. The state has maintained a tight grip over the press through political pressure and has successfully created a proponent media through practices of political favouritism and financial nepotism. The fear of state oppression, the absence of a culture of independent journalism and economic dependence on state support caused the media to align itself with political power, even after the end of single party rule and transition to multi-party democracy.
Topic:
History, Democracy, Media, and Journalism
Political Geography:
Turkey and Middle East

1964. Monitoring Report 3: What sort of a constitution are we heading towards?

Author:
Etyen Mahçupyan, Mehmet Uçum, and Özge Genç
Publication Date:
03-2013
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:
In our “Monitoring Report 3: What sort of a constitution are we heading towards?,” subtitled as “Analysis of Constitutional Scenarios,” the proposals of AK Party, BDP, CHP and MHP regarding the new constitution under the titles such as Legislation, Executive and Jurisdiction are compared. The report analyzes whether the proposals bring a reform, a revision or a repetition, and addresses the question of what type of a constitution will come out of these proposals if they are to be accepted.
Topic:
Reform, Constitution, Citizenship, and State
Political Geography:
Turkey and Middle East

1965. On The New Vision for the Egyptian Foreign Policy After the Revolution

Author:
Amr Darrag
Publication Date:
03-2013
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:
Dr. Amr Darrag is the member of the Executive Board and the Chairperson of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) in Egypt. In his article “On The New Vision for the Egyptian Foreign Policy After the Revolution” he shares his party’s visions for a prosperous and stabilized Egypt. As a member of the Party, Dr.Darrag provides a roadmap with main foreign policy objectives to achieve an imperative role in the international arena. The article also sheds light on the Egypt-Turkey partnership for their development in the economic and political platforms. Dr.Amr Darrag, Mısır’daki Özgürlük ve Adalet Partisi’nin yürütme kurulu üyesi ve partinin Dış İlişkiler Komitesi başkanıdır. “On the New Vision for the Egyptian Foreign Policy After the Revolution” başlıklı makalesinde kalkınmış ve istikrarlı bir Mısır için partisinin ortaya koyduğu vizyonu paylaşmaktadır. Aynı zamanda partinin bir üyesi olarak, uluslararası alanda önemli ve kalıcı bir aktör olmak yolunda izlenecek temel dış politika hedefleri için bir yol haritası sunmaktadır. Makale ekonomik ve siyasi platformlarda Mısır-Türkiye arasındaki ilişkilerin geliştirilmesi için de öneriler içermektedir. Makale yalnızca İngilizce olarak yayınlanmıştır.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Bilateral Relations, Arab Spring, and Revolution
Political Geography:
Turkey, Middle East, and Egypt

1966. The High Council of Judges and Prosecutors in Turkey: Roundtable Discussion on Its New Structure and Operations

Author:
Onur Bayramoğlu
Publication Date:
01-2013
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV)
Abstract:
One of the most critical areas of reform in Turkey’s recent history involves the judiciary, which has served to corroborate the tutelary regime. With a discourse emphasizing that the judiciary itself must also be bound by the “rule of law”, the Justice and Development Party (JDP) took a number of steps toward reforming the administration of supreme judiciary bodies, as well as the judiciary in general. The constitutional amendments brought to the ballot in the referendum of 12 September 2012 essentially represented an initiative to transform the judiciary. The amendments package was intended to equip the Constitutional Court and the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) with a more pluralist structure. This report titled “the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors in Turkey: Roundtable Discussion on its New Structure and Operations” is based on discussions of the roundtable meeting attended by representatives from judges and prosecutors professional associations such as YARSAV (The Association of Judges and Prosecutors) and Demokrat Yargı (Democratic Judiciary Association), which adopted divergent positions over the course of the referendum; one representative from HSYK, the direct addressee in the debate; and experts with diverse opinions. With the roundtable, we intended to generate direct discussion by experts and practitioners of the field in a small group affording sufficient time for speakers. As a result, we treated the current situation and practice through an insider’s perspective and in detail. This also provided a shared platform where parties coming from varying political positions exchanged opinions regarding both the HSYK and several contested aspects of the judiciary reform. The roundtable ensured that critiques were communicated to and discussed with the directly relevant parties through face-to-face conversations.
Topic:
Democratization, Law, Rule of Law, Justice, and Judiciary
Political Geography:
Turkey and Middle East

1967. Religious Democracy and Civilizational Politics: Comparing Political Islam and Political Catholicism

Author:
Michael Driessen
Publication Date:
12-2013
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Center for International and Regional Studies: CIRS
Abstract:
Much of the recent literature on the evolution of political Islam in the Middle East and North Africa has debated the extent to which Islamist political parties have become “secularized” in their political goals and rhetoric. In these studies, a comparison between the political secularization of Islamism and Christian Democracy is often alluded to, but rarely explored in depth. The two political religious movements share much in common with regards to their historical encounter with political liberalism and their intuitions about an ideal religious society. An uncritical comparison, however, obscures significant differences in the relationship of either movement to democratic institutions, traditional sources of religious authority, and the religious citizens of their nations. This paper qualifies the historical, institutional, and theological similarities of political Islam and political Catholicism. In doing so, it emphasizes the importance of the legacies of Catholic Christendom and Muslim Dar al-Islam as transnational, pre-Westphalian religious political orders and the idea of religious authority found in either. After articulating these bases of comparison, the paper considers how these religious legacies remain present in the transition to Christian or Muslim Democracies by exploring the rhetoric of Catholic civilization or Muslim civilization found in Pope Pius XII and Rachid Ghannouchi’s discourses on democracy.
Topic:
Democracy
Political Geography:
Middle East

1968. Yemen's Economic Agenda: Beyond Short-Term Survival

Author:
Danya Greenfield
Publication Date:
12-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
With Yemen's National Dialogue process approaching completion, the nation is poised to move to the next stage of its transition. Now is the time for the government to address not only demands for more inclusive political participation, but also the economic aspirations of most Yemenis who have not experienced any improvement in their standard of living since the 2011 popular revolution. Without making progress on the economic front a priority, the democratic transition process risks derailment and its leadership a complete loss of credibility, which could result in renewed conflict. For too long, taking tough economic decisions has been postponed because of political uncertainty, but the status quo can no longer continue if the country is to emerge from its near failed-state status.
Topic:
Government, Governance, Reconstruction, Political Activism, and Reform
Political Geography:
Middle East and Yemen

1969. The Security of Cities: Ecology and Conflict on an Urbanizing Planet

Author:
Peter Engelke
Publication Date:
11-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
Humankind recently crossed a historic threshold: over half of all human beings now live in cities. In contrast to most of human history, cities have become the default condition for human habitation almost everywhere on earth. Urbanization is proceeding rapidly and at unprecedented scales in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. These regions are poised to join Latin America, Europe, North America, and Australia as having more people living in cities than in rural areas. Between 2010 and 2050, the world's urban population is expected to grow by 3 billion people—a figure roughly equal to the world's total population in 1950—with the great majority living in developing-world cities.3 Our species, in other words, is already an urban one and will become even more so throughout this century.
Topic:
Demographics, Development, Environment, Natural Resources, Urbanization, and Developing World
Political Geography:
Africa, Europe, Middle East, Asia, Latin America, Australia, and North America

1970. US and EU: Lack of Strategic Vision, Frustrated Efforts Toward the Arab Transitions

Author:
Amy Hawthorne and Danya Greenfield
Publication Date:
09-2013
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Atlantic Council
Abstract:
The United States and Europe have yet to show the requisite political will or to develop sustainable strategies to help Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, and Yemen in their democratic transitions more than two years after a wave of popular revolutions toppled decades-old autocracies. To be sure, deepening political, economic, and security challenges in these countries from June 2012 to August 2013, the period analyzed in this report, complicated efforts to provide support. Yet the United States and the European Union (EU) missed important opportunities to capitalize on openings where they existed or to send consistent and sustained diplomatic messages where needed. Faced with the vast amounts of cash the Gulf countries could provide rapidly to the transition countries, especially to Egypt, some in Washington and Brussels wondered if the United States and the EU even had much to offer. In the past year, fatigue and frustration more than energy and hope have characterized US and European engagement with these countries.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Democratization, and Social Movement
Political Geography:
United States, Europe, Middle East, Libya, Yemen, Egypt, and Tunisia