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962. Turkey's Local Elections of 2009: Results, Trends and the Future
- Author:
- ALİ ÇARKOĞLU
- Publication Date:
- 05-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
- Abstract:
- This article aims at presenting a descriptive account of the March 2009 local elections in Turkey. Comparing the general and local elections since 2004, an overall evaluation of trends in electoral preferences is presented. Using provincial general council election results, a detailed geographical comparative analysis of the 2004 and 2009 local elections is also carried out. The analyses show that the AKP's rise has stalled but it still remains as the dominant power in the party system. The electoral map continues to be divided between the coastal western and most developed provinces where the opposition is significantly supported, the east and southeastern provinces where the Kurdish ethnic electoral support is rising and the more conservative provinces in between where the AKP continues to be dominant with the MHP trailing behind. Even though the March 2009 elections had all the characteristics of a local election, they also revel the rising trends in electoral behaviour in Turkey.
- Topic:
- Democratization, Ethnic Conflict, and Politics
- Political Geography:
- Turkey and Asia
963. Davutoğlu Era in Turkish Foreign Policy
- Author:
- Bülent Aras
- Publication Date:
- 05-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
- Abstract:
- Ahmet Davutoğlu was appointed Foreign Minister of Turkey on May 1, 2009. Chief advisor to the Prime Minister since 2002, Davutoğlu is known as the intellectual architect of Turkish foreign policy under the AK Party. He articulated a novel foreign policy vision and succeeded, to a considerable extent, in changing the rhetoric and practice of Turkish foreign policy. Turkey's new dynamic and multidimensional foreign policy line is visible on the ground, most notably to date in the country's numerous and significant efforts to address chronic problems in the neighboring regions. Davutoğlu's duty will now shift from the intellectual design of policies to greater actual involvement in foreign policy, as he undertakes his new responsibilities as Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Davutoğlu era in Turkish foreign policy will deepen Turkey's involvement in regional politics, international organizations, and world politics.
- Topic:
- International Relations, Foreign Policy, and Power Politics
- Political Geography:
- Turkey and Asia
964. The Growing Threat of Radical Islamic Groups in Germany
- Author:
- David Perl
- Publication Date:
- 04-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs
- Abstract:
- Germany has been increasingly forced to confront "homegrown" Islamist terrorism, the threat of radicalized converts to Islam, and the threat of non-integrated Muslim immigrants. In 2003, Iranian-backed Hizbullah was found to have identified Israeli, Jewish, and American facilities in Germany as terror targets. Which are the prominent radical Islamic groups operating in Germany? The Islamic Jihad Union (IJU), one of the most significant threats to German national security, is a Sunni terrorist organization closely associated with al-Qaeda. IJU is well known to the German public due to frequent video threats published on the Internet and on television. Hizb ut-Tahir al-Islami (HuT) is a clandestine, radical Islamist political organization that operates in 40 countries around the world including Germany, which banned the organization in 2003. Prior to its ban, HuT operated mainly in college towns in Germany, and orchestrated a terrorist attack in 2006, when two terrorists placed two suitcases containing bombs (which failed to detonate) on regional trains in Germany. The Islamic Center in Hamburg (IZH), which was under the direct guidance of Iran's Ayatollah Khameini between 1978 and 1980, is considered to be the most important Hizbullah base in Germany and is the institution most engaged in exporting the Islamic Revolution of Iran. It has branches in Berlin, Munich, Muenster, and Hannover, pointing to the ability of Hizbullah to launch attacks within Germany at any time in line with directives from the Iranian Supreme Leadership. Millî Görüş (MG), a radical Islamic group associated with Islamist parties in Turkey, is anti-Western, anti-Semitic, anti-Israeli, and opposes integration into Western society by the 2.5 million Turkish immigrants and their families in Germany. Yakup Akbay of the Fathi Mosque in Munich told Turkish television in 2007: "When Europe, as we hope, will be Islamized, the credit has to be given to the Turkish community. That's the reason for us doing the groundwork."
- Topic:
- Political Violence, Islam, Terrorism, and Armed Struggle
- Political Geography:
- Europe, Turkey, and Germany
965. Europe's External Energy Policy and Turkey's Accession Process
- Author:
- Ali Tekin and Paul A. Williams
- Publication Date:
- 01-2009
- Content Type:
- Working Paper
- Institution:
- Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies, Harvard University
- Abstract:
- This article analyzes the role of Turkey in the European Union's energy security and its implications for the Turkish accession process. The EU is increasingly interested in diversifying its imports of energy, as well as the transit routes for these imported supplies. Extant and future projects to secure energy supplies from Russia, the Caspian and the Middle East indicate quite persuasively that Turkey has become more crucial to the attainment of the EU external energy policy objectives. However, Turkey may have reached the limits of its willingness to cooperate on energy security without more decisive EU reciprocation of Turkey's own EU membership efforts. In the short run, Turkey is not essential to the EU, but in the longer run, as European energy needs become more pressing, the EU may have to give more serious consideration to Turkey's accession.
- Topic:
- Security and Energy Policy
- Political Geography:
- Russia, Europe, Turkey, and Middle East
966. Note From The Editor-In-Chief
- Author:
- Nasimi Aghayev
- Publication Date:
- 04-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Caucasian Review of International Affairs
- Institution:
- The Caucasian Review of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- Since the publication of the Winter 09 issue events in the Caucasus and the wider region have continued to shift, which underlines yet again the region's critical importance for the wider world. The beginning of Barack Obama's tenure as President of the United States has opened up new possibilities for geopolitical shifts in the Caspian region, as he seeks to press the reset button with Russia and offer a hand to Iran. The course of these developments will have a profound effect in the Caucasus and Central Asia, even without the myriad of factors in play in the region. Turkey has reasserted itself in the Caucasus, moving towards rapprochement with Armenia and alienating Azerbaijan. The Nabucco pipeline project looks increasingly doomed, even as Turkmenistan seeks to free itself from Russian control. Meanwhile, the conflict in Afghanistan has continued to cast its ripples over the region.
- Political Geography:
- Afghanistan, Russia, United States, Iran, Central Asia, Turkey, Caucasus, Armenia, and Azerbaijan
967. How the West Was Won: China\'s Expansion into Central Asia
- Author:
- Henryk Szadziewski
- Publication Date:
- 04-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- The Caucasian Review of International Affairs
- Institution:
- The Caucasian Review of International Affairs
- Abstract:
- In the People\'s Republic of China, the Great Western Development Drive has been promoted as a solution to the economic inequalities that exist between the eastern and western regions of the country. Although the initiative has overt economic objectives, these are accompanied by political objectives of internal security in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, an area also known as East Turkestan. The Great Western Development Drive also works in conjunction with China\'s economic and political objectives for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. As a bridge to the markets of Central Asia, the Great Western Development Drive in East Turkestan has built an infrastructure with which China can export goods and import natural resources. Greater economic cooperation between Central Asia and China has also permitted the silencing of Uyghur dissent in Shanghai Cooperation Organization member states. The net result of China\'s expansion into Central Asia for Uyghurs in the region and in East Turkestan has been economic and political marginalization, most notably in the visible exclusion from the policies and projects of the Great Western Development Drive.
- Topic:
- International Relations
- Political Geography:
- China, Turkey, and Asia
968. Turkey and the Transformation of NATO
- Author:
- Tarik Oguzlu
- Publication Date:
- 07-2009
- Content Type:
- Policy Brief
- Institution:
- SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research
- Abstract:
- Recent years have made it clear that NATO is going through a transformation process; Turkey will be one of the allies most affected by this process. Both the future of NATO and Turkey's perception of NATO membership will be at stake unless the allies can reach consensus on the core strategic issues of the transformation agenda. Analysts urgently need to come up with convincing answers to the following questions: In which ways has NATO's transformation been going through? Why does Turkey feel uneasy with some aspects of the process? What steps should Turkey take in order to ensure that the transformation of the Alliance is viewed positively at home?
- Topic:
- NATO, International Cooperation, and International Organization
- Political Geography:
- Central Asia and Turkey
969. Ulusaşırı Yandaşlık Ağbağları Perspektifinden Türkiye\'de Demokratikleşme, İnsan Hakları ve Sivil Toplum Kuruluşları
- Author:
- Bican Şahin and Mete Yildiz
- Publication Date:
- 05-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Institution:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Abstract:
- The purpose of this study is to examine the cooperation between the foreign and domestic NGOs that work in the realm of democratization and human rights in Turkey. The theoretical framework is provided by the literature on “transnational advocacy networks”. Archival research and semi-structured in-depth interviews with the representatives of both foreign and national NGOs are employed as the two main methodological approaches. The findings show that these NGOs share resources such as power, information, experience and money in order to overcome limitations in their political and social environments.
- Topic:
- Human Rights
- Political Geography:
- Turkey
970. Türk Dış Politikasında Zorlayıcı Diplomasi
- Author:
- Elif Hatun Kiliçbeylşa
- Publication Date:
- 05-2009
- Content Type:
- Journal Article
- Journal:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Institution:
- Uluslararasi Iliskiler
- Abstract:
- Gündelik dilde ve akademik kullanımda “Diplomasi” kavramı çok çeşitli tanımlara sahiptir. Neredeyse her Siyaset Bilimi düşünürünün, teorisyenin; her devlet başkanı, her dışişleri bakanının ve hatta her diplomatın kendi farklı tanımı vardır. En genel tanımıyla Diplomasi, en az iki devlet arasında, var olan veya potansiyel sorun olabilecek konularda karşılıklı diyalog ve müzakere yoluyla sorunun çözümüne yönelik her türden çabayı ifade etmektedir. Oysa bu genel tanımda belirtilen diyalog ve müzakerenin her zaman dış politikada tek araç/yöntem olduŞunu söylemek güçtür. Kimi zaman diyalog ve müzakerenin dilini “güç”e dayandırmak gerekir. Böylesi bir durumda Temel şskit'in ifadesiyle, “'zorlayıcı güç' diplomasinin mi yoksa dış politikanın mı aracıdır?” sorusu akla gelmektedir. Devletler diplomatik müzakerelerin çıkmaza girdiŞi durumlarda kuvvet kullanmaya dayalı bir “etki” yönteminden yararlanmayı pek çok açıdan tercih edebilirler.
- Topic:
- Diplomacy
- Political Geography:
- Turkey