[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Turkey and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Turkey Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week`s roundup to turkey@jadaliyya.com by Sunday night of every week.]
English
Wiretapping Scandals
"Son, Get Rid of the Money" Turkey is shaking with the leaked voice recording alleged to be of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his son, Bilal Erdoğan.
Erdoğan Recordings Appear Real, Analyst Says, As Turkey Scandal Grows Roy Gutman relays a US-based cyber analyst’s analysis about the voice recordings: “If it’s fake, it’s of a sophistication that I haven’t seen.”
Is This Dubbing Or Is This A Montage? Ahmet Hakan analyzes the arguments that Erdoğan appeals in order to dismiss the voice recording scandal.
Leaked Tapes Prompt Calls for Turkish PM to Resign Voice recordings appear to capture the prime minister instructing his son to dispose of hidden funds amid the graft probe, writes Constanze Letsch.
Turkey: A Pirates’ Bazaar of Bootleg Tapes Daniel Dombey points out that bugged recordings of prominent Turks are appearing almost every day.
Turks Are Glued to a Sensational Drama, This One Political Tim Arango writes that Turks have always loved a good soap opera but currently the show to watch is Turkey’s own political crisis.
The Erdoğan Tapes After the evening of 24 February, Turkey will never be the same, writes Cengiz Çandar.
Tayyip Erdoğan, World’s Newest Billionaire This is Turkey’s new reality; a corrupt and paranoid government in a death match against a shadowy and corrupt powerful social group, Michael Koplow argues.
Everything Is Possible (1)-(2) Amberin Zaman points that uncertainty grips the country as the voice recording scandal engulfs Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government.
It Is All For Charitable Purposes (1)-(2) Orhan Kemal Cengiz writes that the recording is the most serious indication so far that Erdoğan himself is perhaps deeply involved in corruption.
How Far Can Turkey Carry This Stain? The recording not only put on display the scope of the dirt we are dealing with, but also the precise nature of Erdoğan`s struggle, Cafer Solgun argues.
Tapes That Could Change Politics and the Media (1)-(2) Murat Yetkin points out that “history repeats itself in a very weird way in Turkey.”
Free Fall The question, according to Yavuz Baydar, is whether Turkey will be dragged into a state of paralysis or not before the referendum-like local elections.
There Is No Law, Only Tape Doğu Ergil explains why government is not losing its support and that the opposition is not gaining greater support despite the graft crisis and voice recordings.
Another Sensational Scandal Rocks Turkey Before the voice recording scandal, pro-government dailies had reported a massive wiretapping, Tülin Daloğlu reports.
The Eavesdropping Scandal Taha Özhan comments on these massive wiretappings.
Graft Crisis and Authoritarianism
Serious Observers Cross Out Erdoğan An interview with a veteran journalist Hasan Cemal on the graft crisis and authoritarianism in Turkey.
A Tempest of Fear in Turkey Nothing reflects the tempest in Turkey better than the recent proliferation of conspiracy theories, writes Elif Şafak.
Turkey’s Warring Personality Cults In the absence of well-grounded institutions, politics in Turkey often devolves into a battle of personalities, writes Mustafa Akyol.
New Turkey`s Growing Pains Hatem Ete argues that Turkey left behind its military-dominated guardianship regime but it has yet to find out which actors will shape its new political landscape.
The Many Faces of Fethullah Gülen Is Turkey threatened by the stealthy rise to power of the followers of a former cleric turned politician, Hilal Kaplan asks.
Daily Sabah The Turkish daily Sabah, identified as pro-government, has launched an English edition, allowing English speakers more access to the news and viewpoints of the government.
EU Expected to Freeze Turkey’s Application over Erdoğan Autocratic Style The European Union is expected to put Turkey’s membership application on ice, Alexander Christie-Miller reports.
Turkey’s Report on Human Rights Practices for 2013 US state dept human rights report on Turkey, encompassing Gezi, Ergenekon, the corruption scandal, and violence against women.
The Muslim Democracy Steven Cook criticizes the Obama administration due to its relationships with the AKP government.
Is the US Seeking A Regional Replacement for Turkey? As turmoil prevails in Turkey, there are signs that the US may take steps to decrease Turkey’s role in the region, Serdar Turgut writes.
Turkey`s Dirty Money Tom Keatinge explores whether Turkey will remain in the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF`s) list of high-risk and non-cooperative jurisdictions.
Turkey Will Rise Above Fear Mehmet Şimşek, the Minister of Finance of Turkey, argues that Turkey`s economic prospects have a brighter picture than current market volatility suggests.
The AKP’s Election Strategy: Controlling the Corruption Narrative Aaron Stein draws attention to Hakan Fidan, the director of Turkey’s intelligence agency, and his PhD dissertation.
New Drafts and Laws
Draft Law Would Drastically Expand Turkish MIT`s Powers Taraf daily’s report on the draft law in relation to the powers of the Turkish intelligence agency (MIT).
Incredible Doğu Ergil comments on the latest changes proposed in the MIT law.
The Coming Turkish Spy State A proposed law turns the MIT from an "intelligence-gathering" organization into a "powerhouse" outranking many Turkish ministries, Pınar Tremblay writes.
The End of Free Justice in Turkey Serkan Demirtaş writes that President Gül unwillingly approved the HSYK bill and asked the Constitutional Court to deal with its controversial articles.
Gül Goes On Defensive Over Internet Bill President Abdullah Gül responds to the backlash over his support for a controversial Internet law in Turkey, Semih İdiz relays.
Draft Law Grants Economic Privileges to Turkey`s Military A draft law approved by the parliament grants extraordinary economic privileges to the Turkish armed forces, Adnan Keskin reports.
Gezi Uprising
Recipe for Revolt: What Do Ukraine, Turkey and Thailand Have in Common? If one lesson can be drawn from the spate of street revolts rippling around the globe from south-east Asia to Europe to Latin America, according to Simon Tisdall, it is that every revolution is different.
Revolutionary Nice Ece Temelkuran’s piece on the Gezi uprising.
The Gezi Protests: An Outburst at Turkey’s Shatter-Zone Edibe Sözen and Hakan Yavuz argues that Taksim Square, where Gezi Park is located, is Turkish society’s shatter-zone.
International Women’s Day
Laws Fail to Stop Violence Against Women in Turkey While International Women’s Day on 8 March approaches, Thomas Seibert writes that Turkish activists are drawing attention to the continuing crisis of violence against women.
Turkey Mayoral Candidates Asked to Pledge Reforms The Association for the Support of Women Candidates has asked all candidates to sign a statement confirming support for women and various vulnerable groups, Meral Tamer reports.
Other Pertinent Pieces
Turkmen Caught Between Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan Fehim Taştekin writes that Iraqi Turkmen are getting pressure from the Turkish government to work more closely with the KRG of Iraq.
The People’s Rule: An Interview With Saleh Muslim (1)-(2) The Carnegie Endowment’s interview with Saleh Muslim, co-chair of the Democratic Union Party (PYD), Syria.
Israel at Center of Eastern Mediterranean Energy Strategy Güntay Şimşek comments on Greece, Cyprus, and Israel’s efforts to cooperate in oil production in the eastern Mediterranean.
Protecting Pipelines and Bolstering International Security Cooperation A report on Turkey’s energy infrastructure security challenge.
Turkish
Wiretapping Scandals
Beş soruda Cemaat-hükümet savaşında son durum (1)-(2)-(3) Ruşen Çakır analyzes the struggle between Gülen movement and the AKP after the leaked tape records.
Kaset savaslarinin 5N1K`si Cüneyt Özdemir speculates on why, when, and by whom these wiretaps have been leaked.
Sahici mi sahte mi? - Uzun bir gece... (1)-(2)-(3)-(4)-(5)-(6) Ümit Kıvanç’s writing series elaborates on the reality and reliability of leaked wiretaps.
Siyaset ve yalan Zeynep Gambetti analyzes the graft crisis and voice recording scandal from the perspective of a “totalitarian lie” that blurs the boundary between truth and lie.
‘Şey’ edebiyatının sahiciliğe delâleti Although the Prime Ministry argues that tapes are fake, Hidayet S. Tüksal argues that she, like many others, strongly believes that they might be real.
Manidar pislikler, pis manidarlıklar Oya Baydar comments on the AKP’s anti democratic law drafts, including National Security Intelligence law, amidst the leaked voice records.
Bitiş (1)-(2) Commenting on the leaked wiretaps, Cengiz Çandar argues that as long as Erdoğan insists on staying in power, Turkey will be shaken by scandals.
Türkiye’de yalan söyleyenlerden hiç hesap sorulmadı “Liars have never been accountable in Turkey,” Murathan Mungan says.
Tefessüh 2.01 İsmet Berkan writes about tape scandal and the list of seven thousand people who have allegedly been wiretapped by the state officials.
“Tapeler” Erdoğan’ı neden düşürmüyor? Foti Benlisoy argues that the tapes are not enough to expose Erdoğan’s “big lies,” since they rely on concrete material interest and economic relations.
Fişleme, liyakat ve riyakârlık (1)-(2) Etyen Mahçupyan argues that wiretaps and profiling of opponents have a deep-rooted history in Turkey.
Anlamaya, görmeye ve sorumluluğa davet… Ali Bayramoğlu points that despite the leaked tapes, the AKP will still get forty to fifty percent of the votes in the upcoming local elections.
Graft Crisis and Authoritarianism
Biz, ‘Cemaat’in taşeronları’ ya da cemaate karşı cemaat Ferhat Kentel criticizes the proponents of the government and polarization in society.
Nuray Mert’le medyadan Kürt sorununa An interview with Nuray Mert on the recent political crisis and transformation of the AKP into a one-party system.
Kafeslenmedik ama sanırım kandırılıyoruz Murat Aksoy writes that the seculars who supported the AKP in the 2010 referendum, including he himself, are now realizing that they were deceived.
Demokratikleşmenin yerini İslami Kemalizm mi alıyor? Murat Aksoy argues that AKP’s state is not different from Kemalism’s state—power is just transferred from secular Kemalists to religious Kemalists.
İttihatçı kesilen Erdoğan ya da İslami Kemalizm… Hasan Cemal asks why many pious Muslim are nationalist and statist.
Hukuk yoksa, çete var… İbrahim O. Kaboğlu points out that the suspension of laws started during the attacks against the Gezi uprisings, and that unlawfulness reached its peak during the graft crisis.
Siyasi İslam’ın sıkıntısı Erol Katırcıoğlu argues that political Islam in Turkey failed to move toward a “democratization,” even a conservative one.
28 Şubatçılar bunların yanında amatör kalır (1)-(2) Yalçın Akdoğan, Erdoğan’s chief political advisor, compares the graft crisis to the 28 February coup attempt and political engineering.
Hayaleti ete kemiğe büründürmek Hatem Ete argues that the Gülen movement, what he calls a “ghost structure”, aims to defame Erdoğan and to block his candidacy for the next presidential elections.
Cemaat, camia ve paralel yapı Hayrettin Karaman calls on the Gülen community to prove that they are not related to any “parallel structure.”
Buradan bir çıkış var mı? Ya da neden HDP’deyim? Nazan Üstündağ asks whether there is a way out of this conflict between the AKP government and the Gülen community.
AKP-Fethullahçı kavgası ve olasılıklar Adil Bayram argues that “democratic society” or “autonomy” suggested by the Kurdish political movement is a third strategy, alternative to the strategies of Gülen movement and of the AKP.
Kurdish Question
Kürt politikaları itibariyle hükümet ve Cemaat (1)-(2) Mücahit Bilici analyzes the government’s and the Gülen movement’s approaches to the Kurdish question.
Büşra Ersanlı: Barış sadece Öcalan ve Erdoğan için değil, süreç halka yayılmalı Büşra Ersanlı’s interview on her prison witness and ongoing trial, the Kurdish question, and her expectations from the peace process.
30 Mart`a dogru Baris ve Demokrasi Partisi SETA’s report examines the history of the legal Kurdish political movement and its relationship with the Gezi uprisings, graft crisis, and peace process; and analyzes the BDP in terms of the upcoming local elections.
Barış belediyeciliği Nazan Üstündağ points out that the success of the BDP and the HDP in the next elections is necessary for a successful peace process.
Kürdistan`da Kürt iktidarı kurulurken Arzu Yılmaz argues that the US and the West can develop a political relationship with Rojava independent of Turkey’s anti-terror reserve in the long term.
Local Elections
Bu seçim başka seçim Bekir Ağırdır analyzes the upcoming eighteen months, which will include local elections, general elections, and presidential elections.
Merkezde parti arayışları hızlanacak According to Adil Gür, the AKP is making a strategic mistake in relying its election campaign on the political agenda such as graft crisis and wiretapping scandals rather than its local municipality services.
En genelinden bir yerel seçim Yılmaz Esmer argues that local elections will be held according to the general election’s party ideologies.
Değişen Türkiye Değişmeyen Merkeziyetçilik Sema Erder and Nihal İncioğlu analyze the next local elections under the light of increasing centralization of power in Turkey.
Cemaatlerin sandık sırları According to Ruşen Çakır and Ömer Şahin, the Gülen community will support the strongest candidate against the AKP in each and every region.
İslami cemaatleri AKP ve Erdoğan’dan koparmak mümkün mü? Ruşen Çakır comments on the relations between faith-based Muslim communities and the AKP after the break down between the AKP and the Gülen movement.
AK Parti seçmeni, yolsuzluk haberlerinden niçin etkilenmiyor? Levent Gültekin argues that, despite the obvious tapes and documents, AKP voters do not believe graft allegations as a defense mechanism against the media’s outrageous representation of the AKP.
Other Pertinent Pieces
`Yeni Türkiye’: bir kavramın izinde (1)-(2) Doğan Gürpınar analyzes the ambiguity of the term “new Turkey” and its deployment as a rhetorical tool by different actors.
28 Şubat sonrası siyasal İslam ve küreselleşme ilişkisi (1)-(2)-(3)-(4)-(5) Al Jazeera’s interview series examines the 28 February military coup and its resonance in today’s political Islam.
Mondros Mütarekesi’nin imzalanması sonrasında Türkiye siyasi ortamı. Ermeni Soykırımı’nın, Osmanlı basınında irdelenmesi Meline Anumyan examines how the Armenian Genocide was covered in the Ottoman media.
Birine otekinin hakkını sormak (1)-(2)-(4)-(5)-(6)-(7) Belma Akçura’s article series about the co-existence of identities in Turkey, as well as “othering” practices.
Published on Jadaliyya
"The Family Duress Was a Campaign of Torment": An Interview with Asli Igsiz
What’s Happening in Turkey? A Roundtable with the Turkey Page Editors
Kurt Meselesinde 2000’li Yillara Genel Bir Bakis
New JADMAG: “Resistance Everywhere”: The Gezi Protests and Dissident Visions of Turkey
Freedom of Expression in Turkey: Problems and Challenges (London School of Economics, 3 March)