Mutluluk (happiness) is one of the fascinating characteristics of the Turkish people as embodied in the words of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. However, the recent rise of terrorist events in Turkey cast a ...long shadow over their happiness. Two distinct groups are behind the rise: a reinvigorated Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) including some of its splinter groups and Islamic States (IS). While Turkey’s policy to deal with PKK-related violent extremism is relatively old and the root of the conflict chiefly lies in the problematic relationship between the Turkish state and Kurdish minority, IS orchestrated terrorism is new and it has put Turkey into a dilemma that rose from changing geopolitical situation in Syria and its surrounding areas. In explaining both the trends, this chapter gives an overview of “Kurdish question” that is embedded in historical past and then it suggests that the peaceful resolution of conflict lies in engaging PKK and Kurdish political party in a meaningful way so that they can grasp long-term consequence of the ongoing conflict. Turkey’s domestic political environment has changed over the past decade and an evolving civil–military relationship coupled with Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) assertive role in controlling domestic affairs have potency to push Turkey toward more instability in the future. In this regard, Turkey has adopted a three-pronged counterterrorism strategy to deal with the current situation and it is shaped by a host of internal and external factors. However, relying solely on hard power to resolve terrorism would not be a prudent way forward for Turkish policymakers.
L’entrée de la Turquie dans l’OTAN en 1952 a influencé les relations turco-américaines de façon plus importante que tout autre événement. Pendant la période entre 1950 et 1960 considérée comme la ...période de « lune de miel » dans l’histoire des relations turco-américaines des derniers cinquante ans, la Turquie est devenue un acteur clé des stratégies de défense de l’OTAN et ainsi des Etats-Unis. Dans la décennie 1960, les deux pays traversèrent une période de turbulence marquée par deux crises. Le retrait du sol turc des missiles Jupiter en 1963 sans consultation préalable du gouvernement fut un tournant important dans l’histoire des relations turco-américaines La deuxième crise éclata dans les relations entre Ankara et Washington lors des premiers affrontements inter-communautaires à Chypre, avec la fameuse lettre de Johnson de juin 1964. En 1973, Washington protesta vigoureusement contre l'autorisation, accordée par le gouvernement d'Ankara, de cultiver le pavot à des fins médicales. La crise chypriote de 1974 avait une nature différente de celle des crises précédentes car son impact sur les relations entre les deux pays ont été finalement de plus longue durée et aussi plus profonds. Dans la décennie 1980 Ankara apparut donc aux yeux des Américains comme un partenaire qui cherchait toujours un équilibre dans ses relations avec ces derniers. Durant la décennie 1990 les relations turco-américaines connurent une transition majeure d’une coopération stratégique étroite établie de longue durée dans la période de la Guerre froide à un nouveau type de relation basée sur le rôle important de la Turquie dans les affaires régionales. A la différence de la crise chypriote de 1974 que nous considérons aussi comme une grande rupture, la crise de la guerre d’Irak de 2003 a laissé les traces les plus marquantes sur les relations bilatérales et a causé des frictions très importantes entre les militaires de haut rang des deux pays et par conséquent, la méfiance s’installa rapidement dans les relations militaires entre les deux pays.
Turkey’s entry to NATO in 1952 influenced the Turkish-American relations in a way more important than any other event. During the period between 1950 and 1960 considered as “honeymoon period” in the history of the Turkish-American relations of the last fifty years, Turkey became a key actor of NATO’s defense strategies and thus of the United States. In 1960’s, two countries crossed a turbulent era marked by two crises. The withdrawal of the Jupiter missiles in 1963 from Turkish ground without preliminary consultation of the government was revolving important in the history of the Turkish-American relations. The second crisis in the relations between Ankara and Washington burst during the first intercommunity confrontations in Cyprus, with the famous letter of Johnson of June 1964. In 1973, Washington protested vigorously against authorization, granted by the Ankara Government, to cultivate the poppy for medical purposes. The Cypriot crisis of 1974 had a nature different from that of the preceding crises because its impact on the relations between the two countries was also deeper. During the eighties Ankara appeared in the eyes of the Americans as a partner who always sought a balance in his relationships to the latter. During following decade which testified to the disintegration of the Soviet Union and thus of the end of the Cold war Turkish-American relations entered a major transition from an established close strategic co-operation long life during the time of the Cold war to a new type of relation based on the big role of Turkey in the regional affairs. With the difference of the Cypriot crisis of 1974 that we also regard as a great rupture, the crisis of the war of Iraq of 2003 left the most outstanding traces on the bilateral relations and because of the very significant frictions between the high ranking soldiers of the two countries a mistrust settled quickly in the military relations between the two countries.
UsingMikhail Bakhtin’s concept of dialogism, this paper1 argues that the European Union’s approach towards Turkey is lacking of dialogue. This dialogue-less approach has been particularly damaging in ...relation to Turkey’s unresolved Kurdish question, contributing to the fact that the question remains unsolved. The paper argues that in addition to being an unethical position, the EU’s approach has hindered relations with Turkey, damaged the EU’s foreign policy strategy, and compromised both the EU’s and Turkey’s external and internal security.
In the experience of Turkish modernity, ‘nationalization’ obviously occupies a prominent part. This is why the Turkish transition to modernity has often been seen merely as a transition from the ...Islamic Empire to the Turkish nation-state. With reference to this transformation, the Turkish experience has often been called unique, because of the perceived incompatibility of Islam with the idea of ‘nation’. The creation of a nation-state in a predominantly Islamic society is a major reason why Kemalism is seen as providing a model of modernity for Muslim societies.
The Turkish experience of modernity has thus been seen as dominated by
In 2023, Türkiye will celebrate the centennial of the establishment of the republic and will also hold a crucial election. The 2023 elections are one of the most important in Türkiye’s history. Four ...main topics will determine the fate of the elections: refugees, the economy, rising nationalism, and the Kurdish question. There are serious differences of opinion between the government and opposition blocs regarding the solution to these problems. Concerning refugee policies, Türkiye is still the country hosting the highest number of displaced persons under temporary protection in the world. While policies against immigrants are rising all over the world, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has adopted a humanitarian approach in terms of refugee policies. Erdogan has also used his power of persuasion in society in terms of solving economic problems. In many parts of the world, the combination of refugees and economic problems manifested itself in the form of reactionary nationalism. Erdogan, on the other hand, used nationalist rhetoric in an integrative way, blending the concepts of native (yerli) and national (milli). Although the opposition has not demonstrated a clear approach to these issues, it positioned itself directly opposite Erdogan. Likewise, recently, a new approach has been adopted in terms of the solution to the Kurdish question, apart from the PKK. The 2023 elections will show which of the approaches of the government or the opposition wings coincide with Turkish society’s expectations.
Although there has been a considerable amount of research on the Kurdish Question in general, so far, little attention has been given to the relationship between the Kurdish Question and its ...depiction and constitution in film. The study of films offers insights into how aesthetics inform, determine, enable, and naturalize specific interpretations and actions. This article sees films as narratives and will employ a narrative analysis method that emphasizes the role of setting, characterization, and emplotment as central pillars of any story to examine how four Turkish-Kurdish films understand and represent the Kurdish Question, self and other, and the implications of this representation. The analysis of the films not only reflects on a distinct Kurdish perspective on the matter, but also illustrates the diversity of interpretations and discourses and, as such, broadens the scope of ideas for possible behaviour and solutions to the old conflict.
