[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

Freedom of the Press and Democracy

Freedom of Press Cannot Be Sacrificed to Ideological Debate İsmet Berkan points out that “we are again ideologically split into two with the latest press freedom report from Freedom House.”

State Department Rejects Davutoğlu’s Denial of Media Watchdog Report While the Freedom House report was expected to cause a stir, the statements by Foreign Minister Davutoğlu stand out, eliciting a rebuke from the State Department, Cengiz Çandar writes.

Freedom House Right About Turkey Turkish journalists should not follow Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu`s suggestion to reject the press freedom report, suggests Mustafa Akyol.

End Point of Ridiculousness According to Etyen Mahçupyan, the most recent report from Freedom House is ridiculous.

Turkish Press Freedom for Dummies “The government sometimes tries to shape media outlets that wage struggles against it, but this does not indicate that there is no freedom of the press in Turkey,” Hilal Kaplan contends.

PM Erdoğan Starring in FoE Violations! BIA’s Media Monitoring of January-February-March 2014.

Doğan Ertuğrul Spills the Beans about Pro-Government Daily Star William Armstrong discusses Hazal Özvarış’s interview with Doğan Ertuğrul, the former senior news editor of the pro-government Daily Star.

Global Turkey in Europe II IAI Research Papers’ on Turkey: “Energy, Migration, Civil Society, and Citizenship Issues in Turkey-EU Relations.”

Turkey’s Institutions Problem According to Erik Meyersson, the problem of Turkey’s institutions is: “it’s a country with stronger-than-average state powers combined with weaker-than-average citizens’ rights.”

Erdoğan Outburst: "This Is Indecency!" Cengiz Çandar writes on Prime Minister Erdoğan’s outburst at the chairman of the Union of Bar Associations of Turkey.

Socially Respected Authoritarianism: Turkey`s Rentierism on the Rise “Turkey`s turn to a new type of authoritarian path should be seen as rentierism a la Turca,” Gökhan Bacık argues.

Turkey—Between East and West Louis A. Delvoie asks whether Turkey should be viewed as a European country or a Middle Eastern country.

Relationship with the West

Turkey and the US: Facts and Perceptions Hatem Ete claims that “US officials` critique of Turkey reflects an overall lack of in-depth understanding of the country.”

Turkey`s Never-Ending Anti-Americanism For Ömer Taşpınar, “there is something inherent in Turkish political culture that makes the body politic almost genetically predisposed to blame external factors for domestic issues.”

Exploiting Turkey`s Love-Hate Relationship with the West Turkey, despite its successes, has not been able to go beyond its traditional love-hate relationship with the West, writes Joost Lagendijk.

With Conspiracy-Minded Intrigue, Life Imitates Fiction in Turkey Tim Arango points to “Istanbul spy tales dominated by stories of agents of foreign powers using the city as their playground.”

Turkey’s Image and Influence Abroad Have Been Tarnished David Gardner argues that Turkey’s reputation is bound up with the reputation of its prime minister: Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

A New Problem in Turkish-American Relations: Fethullah Gülen Sedat Ergin indicates that “the tough new issue in Turkish-American relations is the Fethullah Gülen file."

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan: Turkey’s President-in-Waiting? According to Marc Pierini, “the West’s problem with Turkey is simple: the course chosen by the AKP since late May 2013 no longer fits with the criteria of a liberal democracy.”

What to Do with Turkey “Turkey`s friends should engage with Ankara to impact the situation in a positive manner,” writes Suat Kınıklıoğlu.

Erdoğan, Kurds, and Presidential Elections

Erdoğan Sizes Up Powers of Turkey’s Presidency Daniel Dombey argues that “August’s presidential elections will be historic but not necessarily conclusive.”

Possible Results of the AK Party’s Three-Term Rule Osman Can comments on the AKP’s decision not to amend the three-term rule and its effects on the presidential elections.  

The Longest Year: 2014 Taha Özhan points to the long political year of Turkey.

A One Sided Affair: How Erdoğan Was Able to Mobilize the Female Vote Ahu Yiğit and Sezen Yaraş’s piece on the female electorate’s fascination with Erdoğan.

Opposition Missing Chance for the Presidential Election Özgür Korkmaz argues the opposition seems to be lagging behind the ruling party in preparations related to the presidential election.

Will Kurds Support Dictatorship in Exchange for Autonomy? Orhan Kemal Cengiz can only see a simple formula for the future.

Kurds, Democrats, and Leftists: A Family Saga? According to Nuray Mert, “the facts of Turkish politics will push the Kurds toward a very difficult situation and they will be forced to make a tragic choice.”

PKK Won`t Support Erdoğan`s Presidential Bid The PKK says the Erdoğan government has done little to advance peace talks and thus won’t be receiving PKK support in the presidential elections, Wladimir van Wilgenburg reports.

Kurdish Question and Democratic Autonomy

Kurdish Right to Autonomy Şahin Alpay comments on the debate over the Kurds’ right to autonomy.

Giving Up on Kurdish Nation-State Mümtazer Türk’öne contends that the “PKK is making some deep-rooted changes.”

The HDP Ahead of Time Fréderike Geerdink asks whether the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) can really be an alternative for Turks.

Syrian Kurd Leader Urges Turkey to Join Fight against Jihadists Amberin Zaman’s interview with Salih Muslim, the co-chairman of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) of Syria.

Graft Probes and Allegations

"We Wouldn’t Burn the House Because of Thieves Inside" (1)-(2)-(3) Murat Yetkin focuses on the parliamentary investigation commission related to the graft probes and allegations.

Getting Away with It: Majority Believe Corruption Will Go Unpunished According to a survey of the 2014 World Justice Project, a majority of people believe that high-ranking government officers guilty of using public money for personal benefit will face no punishment for their conduct.

The AKP/Gülen Crisis in Turkey: Consequences for Central Asia and the Caucasus Bayram Balcı argues that the battle between Erdoğan and Gülen will spread abroad, with Central Asia and the Caucasus at its epicenter.

Prime Minister’s Message on the Armenian Genocide

Remembering the Armenians “The decision to acknowledge what Armenians call Genocide Remembrance Day may well represent a breakthrough, but it is only a start,” writes Aryeh Neier.

Syriacs Await Condolence Message from Turkish State Although many of Turkey`s Syriacs felt it was a good sign that Erdoğan offered his condolences to the descendants of Armenians killed in 1915, they felt that Syriacs should have been included in this message, Serdar Korucu points out.

Energy, Regional Politics and Power

Europe Eyes Turkey As an Energy Supplier Deutsche Welle’s report on Turkey as an energy supplier.

The Southern Gas Corridor: Europe’s Lifeline? David Koranyi writes that “the Ukraine crisis brought European energy security and with it the Southern Gas Corridor back into the spotlight.”

Turkish-Russian Energy Rapprochement: What It Means for Ukraine Eşref Yalınkılıçlı examines the emerging Turkish-Russian energy relationship and its possible effects on Ukraine.

Turkish Stakes in the Ukraine Crisis Ian Lesser argues that “over the longer-term, a more competitive and conflict-prone relationship between Russia and the West will test the foundations of recent Turkish foreign policy.”

Turkey as an Emerging Power Meltem Müftüler-Baç investigates whether Turkey has become one of the key actors in reshaping global dynamics.

Realization of Turkey’s Energy Aspirations: Pipe Dreams or Real Projects? Gareth Winrow focuses on gas, which, according to him, will remain a key component in Turkey`s energy mix.

The Syrian Crisis: A Challenge to The Black Sea Stability According to Igor Delanoë, “Located a few hundred miles from Syria, the Black Sea region may be concerned by a possible spillover of the conflict.”

Enhancing Security in the Black Sea Region and Prospects for Turkish-Ukrainian Cooperation A collection of analyses developed by the Razumkov Centre and the Centre for International and European Studies (Kadir Has University).

Turkey, Qatar Strengthen Economic Ties Fehim Taştekin points out that Turkey is stepping up relations with Qatar, adding cultural and commercial links to their political collaboration.

Other Pertinent Pieces

Turkish Trade Unions in Death Throes Restrictive laws and government hostility have crippled Turkey’s once-mighty labor movement, writes Mehmet Cetingüleç.

Turkey`s Child Murders Revive Death Penalty Debate Despite the public outcry, it is unlikely that Turkey will reinstate capital punishment, Semih İdiz argues.

Child Labor: The Invisible Problem “Following the atrocious killings of children, the ‘authority’ makes a statement in the lines of ‘the harshest punishment will be given.’ Yet what does it do for the living?” Melis Alphan asks.

Culture, Religiosity, and Female Labor Supply Using the epidemiological approach, Duygu Güner and Gökçe Uysal address the question “Does culture affect female labor supply?”

Honor Killings Haunt Turkey`s Gay Community "Gay honor killings" in Turkey reveal a pattern of deep-rooted prejudice and social codes that override even the closest family bonds, Sibel Hürtaş writes.

The Boko Haram Nightmare Mustafa Akyol argues that “Boko Haram acts in the name of Islam inevitably raises questions, adding to the current trend of Islamophobia.”

Who Speaks for Islam in Turkey? Pinar Tremblay points out that Turkey`s religious affairs directorate is under scrutiny.

Turkey’s Invisible Refugees “Insults and both open and secret racism against the Syrians are all around” in Turkey, Ali Topuz points out.

Published on Jadaliyya

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