Starting Over: US-Turkish Relations in the Post-Iraq War Era, Spring 2003 During the nineties, Turks and Americans found they had become more, not less important to one another than during the Cold War, and declared themselves "strategic partners." The meaning of that phrase was changing even before George Bush decided to go to war with Iraq. But the President's decision accelerated the process and raised the stakes. The Iraq war is a watershed in U.S.-Turkish relations. Turkey will remain a key country for Washington. But the partnership will inevitably involve... Mark Parris | 05 June 2003 The AKP's Foreign Policy: Learning it in the Hard Way, Spring 2003 Turkey is the center of international attention once again for a host of reasons which have to do with her geo-strategic location, and the unique fact that she has a secular parliamentary democracy despite being a predominantly Islamic country. The landslide victory by the “Islamists” in the November elections merely heightened this interest, leading many to question what the “Justice and Development Party’s foreign policy priorities would be. It did not take long before it became apparent that... Semih İdiz | 05 June 2003 One Calorie Islam: Turkey's Light Muslims and the West, Spring 2003 After a long period characterized by close collaboration between the U.S. and Turkey, Turkey became a reluctant ally when the fight was taken to Bagdad. Turkey’s hesitance did not stem from its sympathy for Saddam or any doubt regarding its alliance with the U.S. Turkey had military, strategic and economic concerns regarding what a possible attack to Iraq might mean for its own national interests. Despite having no interest in the initiation of an American intervention, Turkey nonetheless... Sean Michael Cox | 05 June 2003 Reluctant Ally, Spring 2003 After a long period characterized by close collaboration between the US and Turkey, Turkey became a reluctant ally when the fight was taken to Bagdad. Turkey’s hesitance did not stem from its sympathy for Saddam or any doubt regarding its alliance with the U.S. Turkey had military, strategic and economic concerns regarding what a possible attack to Iraq might mean for its own national interests. Despite having no interest in the initiation of an American intervention, Turkey nonetheless... Mensur Akgün | 05 June 2003 A Sea of Change: Civil Society and Turkish Politics, Spring 2003 For a long time Turkey has been administrated by a political triangle, where a few people at the top of the triangle were the agenda-setters and the decision makers. Media and business interests were basically in line with this philosophy and instead of challenging it, played along. During the last 5 years, a number of developments such as the coming of age of the NGO sector and growing influence of youth have begun to wear down this political triangle system. The November 2002... Kemal Köprülü | 05 June 2003 Benchmarking the New Government, Spring 2003 The most remarkable feature of the November elections was the decisive victory of the AKP, a party associated with Islamist politics. The second distinguishing feature was the restoration of a bipolar political system, in other words the emergence of a “center”, that put an end to the series of coalition governments which had ruled since the early 1990s. Despite this political advantage, AKP’s answers to the challenges facing the country are still unclear. The priority of... Kaan Durukan | 05 June 2003 The New Government and the Economy : What is in Store?, Spring 2003 The new Turkish government took office in November 2002. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) won the November elections and established a single-party government. Although it has Islamic roots, the party can be classified as a center-right party both politically and economically. The government's economic program is based upon the strategy and the targets of the existing stabilization program.However, it must be acknowledged that the performance of the AKP government up to... Veyis Fertekligil | 05 June 2003 A Review of Possible Economic Developments: What are AKP's Plans?, Spring 2003 The new government formed after the elections was received positively both in financial markets and business circles. During the first five months, it can be said that the AKP government has made significant progress on most of the points listed in their Emergency Action Plan. Yet the upbeat tone in financial markets after the elections has disappeared completely after five months. There were two main reasons for this deterioration : the government proved its commitment to... Ümit Kumcuoğlu | 05 June 2003 Possible Transformations of Collective Security Arrangements in the Post-September 11 Era, Spring 2003 This concept will be analyzed in relation to the role of identity-building in the formation of collective security arrangements. Coercion has been one of the indispensable stimulants in state building. It is evident that anything, which is gained with coercion, is exposed to threat and thus to implicit vulnerability, as it is not achieved with the free will cooperation of others. Corollary to this logic, it can be said that as states are the product of coercion, they are exposed to... Hasan Ulusoy | 05 June 2003 U.S. Policy in The Black Sea Region, Spring 2003 The new Turkish government took office in November 2002. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) won the November elections and established a single-party government. Although it has Islamic roots, the party can be classified as a center-right party both politically and economically. The government's economic program is based upon the strategy and the targets of the existing stabilization program. However, it must be acknowledged that the performance of the AKP government up to now,... Ross Wilson | 05 June 2003