Global Turkey in Europe. Political, Economic, and Foreign Policy
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Identity, Narrative and Frames: Assessing Turkey's Kurdish Initiatives
ARTICLE IDENTITY, NARRATIVE AND FRAMES: ASSESSING TURKEY’S KURDISH INITIATIVES Identity, Narrative and Frames: Assessing Turkey’s Kurdish Initiatives JOHANNA NYKÄNEN* ABSTRACT In 2009 the Turkish government launched a novel initiative to tackle the Kurdish question. The initiative soon ran into deadlock, only to be un- tangled towards the end of 2012 when a new policy was announced. This comparative paper adopts Michael Barnett’s trinity of identity, narratives and frames to show how a cultural space within which a peaceful engage- ment with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) would be deemed legiti- mate and desirable was carved out. Comparisons between the two policies reveal that the framing of policy narratives can have a formative impact on their outcomes. The paper demonstrates how the governing quality of firmness fluctuated between different connotations and references, finally leading back to a deep-rooted tradition in Turkish governance. ince 1984 when the PKK commenced its armed struggle against the Turkish state, Turkish security policies have been framed around the SKurdish question with the PKK presented as the primary security threat to be tackled. Turkey’s Kurdish question has its roots in the founding of the republic in 1923, which saw Kurdish ethnicity assimilated with Turkishness. In accordance with the Treaty of Lausanne (1923), only three minorities were and continue to be officially recognized in Turkey: Armenians, Jews and Greeks. These three groups were granted minority status on the basis of their religion. Kurdish identity – whether national, racial or ethnic – was not recognized by the republic, resulting in decades of uprisings by the Kurds and oppressive and * Department assimilative politics by the state. -
Eu Politics and Institutions
Council of the European Union General Secretariat THINK TANK REVIEW December 2019 Council Library ISSUE 73 This Think Tank Review* covers articles and reports published in November relating to different political and policy topics. As the new leadership takes the helm, this month's section on EU politics and institutions includes a look at the geo-economic focus of von der Leyen's presidency and one article argues for a focus on fundamental values in the EU global strategy 2020. Under competitiveness, articles discuss renewing the industrial strategy and developing an EU approach to artificial intelligence. There are also articles covering the debate on internet governance. The ecofin section includes a discussion on the growth mechanism in Europe as well as an article covering the topic of crisis resolution in eurozone banks and another on eurozone reform. On environmental issues one article asks how to make the green deal work, while another highlights the importance of the circular economy in reaching the goal of climate neutrality. In justice and home affairs there is a call for the EU to act together to tackle antisemitism in Europe. The issue of repatriating foreign fighters and those associated with ISIS is discussed as is the issue of extremism online. The section on transport, telecommunications and energy deals with the question of 5G and the risks it entails. On foreign and security policy priorities for European security are set out and responses within EU foreign and security policy to climate-related security risks are analysed. There is a look at EU-NATO cooperation and there are recommendations for the civilian common security and defence policy, including for making it more gender-balanced. -
Analyzing the Telecoms Privatization in Greece from a ‘Discursive Institutionalist’ Perspective
Privatization in the Name of ‘Europe’: analyzing the telecoms privatization in Greece from a ‘discursive institutionalist’ perspective Christos Dimas GreeSE Paper No 41 Hellenic Observatory Papers on Greece and Southeast Europe NoveNovembermber 2010 All views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Hellenic Observatory or the LSE © Christos Dimas _ Table of Contents ABSTRACT ______________________________________________________ iii 1. Introduction______________________________________________________ 1 2. Theoretical Background ____________________________________________ 4 2.1. Discursive institutionalism _______________________________________ 4 2.2. Europe as a legitimating factor ___________________________________ 6 3. The case-study ___________________________________________________ 10 3.1. The pro and anti European politics in Greece during the 1970s and 1980s 10 3.2. The Greek disjointed corporatist system ____________________________ 15 3.3. OTE as a case study ___________________________________________ 17 4. Empirical Analysis _______________________________________________ 19 4.1. The Mitsotakis government 1990-1993 ____________________________ 19 4.2. Papandreou governments 1993-1996 ______________________________ 24 4.3. The Simitis governments 1996-2004 ______________________________ 32 4.4. The Karamanlis governments 2004-2009 __________________________ 37 5. Conclusion______________________________________________________ 41 References ________________________________________________________ -
APRIL 2015 ISSUE 23 Welcome to Issue 23 of the Think Tank Review
APRIL 2015 ISSUE 23 Welcome to issue 23 of the Think Tank Review, compiled by the EU Council Library*. It references papers published in March 2015. As usual, we link to the full text and include a short abstract. This month's exceptionally rich Review has a focus on the economy, with several think tanks looking at the details of the ECB's quantitative easing, comparing it to precedents elsewhere, or trying to ascertain the impact of QE and other measures on one or more Member States. On the internal market, we note a study by Bruegel, concluding that its positive impact has not yet met the expectations and calling for EU and national "distributional policies" to mitigate its negative impact on some sectors. On institutions, and at a moment were foreign policy is so high on the European agenda, Svenska institutet för europapolitiska studier came with a timely report on the diplomatic role of the European Parliament's parliamentary groups. Still on institutions, the Centrum für Europäische Politik has recommendations on how to empower national parliaments in subsidiarity scrutiny. As insiders know, our library is part of the General Secretariat's directorate in charge of transparency and access to documents. As such, we were particularly interested in the critical view of transparency in EU institutions expressed in the black box of European legislation from the Polish Institute of International Affairs. On a related matter, here some background on the Council's participation in the EU open data portal. From transparency to politicisation: two papers, from the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and Terranova, go back to the issue of turnout at the European elections in 2014 and of how to mobilise voters. -
Exports: the Heart of Nep
How to Export to 2018 Turkey This report includes all the information related to trade basics and detailed data regarding export from Brazil to Turkey. This report is for information purposes only and Tumer Eng. will not be liable to any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or exemplary damages, including but not limited to, damages for loss of profits, goodwill, use, data, or other intangible losses. Ver:1.0 2018 1 Contents 1 Why Turkey.................................................................................................................................... 12 1.1 General Information .............................................................................................................. 12 1.2 Geography ............................................................................................................................. 13 1.2.1 Distances ....................................................................................................................... 18 1.2.2 Climate of Turkey .......................................................................................................... 19 1.2.2.1 Air temperature changes until now .......................................................................... 20 1.2.2.2 Precipitation changes until now ................................................................................ 21 1.2.2.3 Air temperature changes in the 21st century ........................................................... 21 1.2.2.4 Precipitation changes in the 21st century ................................................................ -
European Elections
BRIEFING What Think Tanks are Thinking 11 January 2019 European elections Citizens of the European Union go to the polls in May 2019, in elections to the European Parliament which many analysts say may be the most important ever. Commentators are currently focused on the prospective performance of anti-establishment parties and movements, many of which run on Eurosceptic platforms. The vote will also indicate if the Spitzenkandidaten process, launched by the European political parties five years ago, has become established practice. If followed as in 2014, the candidate from the political force that receives the highest number of seats in the European elections would become the President of the European Commission. This note offers links to reports and commentaries from some major international think-tanks and research institutes on the forthcoming European elections and related issues. A cordon populiste from the Baltic to the Adriatic Sea: Is a new populist alliance emerging in the EU? Istituto Affari Internazionali, January 2019 2019 European Parliament elections will change the EU’s political dynamics Carnegie Europe, December 2018 Les modes de scrutin et les enjeux des élections européennes de mai 2019 Fondation Robert Schuman, December 2018 European Parliament elections 2019: The litmus test for the Spitzenkandidaten process Centre for European Reform, December 2018 European election 2019 monitor Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, December 2018 Policies and politics of migration towards the European elections Istituto Affari Internazionali, -
Kazakhstan Regulatory and Procedural Barriers to Trade in Kazakhstan
UNECE UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE Regulatory and procedural barriers to trade in Kazakhstan Regulatory and procedural barriers to trade in Kazakhstan - Needs Needs Assessment Assessment Information Service United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Palais des Nations UNITED NA CH - 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland Telephone: +41(0)22 917 44 44 Fax: +41(0)22 917 05 05 E-mail: [email protected] Website: http://www.unece.org TIONS Printed at United Nations, Geneva GE.14-22004–May 2014–150 UNITED NATIONS ECE/TRADE/407 UNITED NATIONS ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR EUROPE Regulatory and procedural barriers to trade in Kazakhstan Needs Assessment United Nations New York and Geneva, 2014 2 Regulatory and procedural barriers to trade in Kazakhstan Needs Assessment Note The designation employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the ex- pression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers of boundaries. This study is issued in English and Russian. ECE/TRADE/407 Copyright © 2014 United Nations and International Trade Centre All rights reserved Foreword 3 Foreword The International Trade Center (ITC) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) are pleased to present the needs assessment study of regulatory and procedural barriers to trade in the Republic of Kazakhstan. We would also like to express our appreciation to Kazakhstan’s Centre for Trade Policy Development under the Ministry of Economic Development, which cooperated with both ITC and UNECE in preparing the study. -
PKK, Demilitarisation of the PKK in Abdullah Ocalan, and the Field
INSTITUT KURD E DE PARIS Information and liaison bulletin N°335 february 2013 The publication of this Bulletin enjoys a subsidy from the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs (DGCID) aqnd the Fonds d’action et de soutien pour l’intégration et la lutte contre les discriminations (The Fund for action and support of integration and the struggle against discrimination) This bulletin is issued in French and English Price per issue : France: 6 € — Abroad : 7,5 € Annual subscribtion (12 issues) France : 60 € — Elsewhere : 75 € Monthly review Directeur de la publication : Mohamad HASSAN Numéro de la Commission Paritaire : 659 15 A.S. ISBN 0761 1285 INSTITUT KURDE, 106, rue La Fayette - 75010 PARIS Tel. : 01-48 24 64 64 - Fax : 01-48 24 64 66 www.fikp.org E-mail: bulletin@fikp.org Information and liaison bulletin Kurdish Institute of Paris Bulletin N° 335 February 2013 • MOSCOW: PRESIDENT MASSUD BARZANI WELCOMED BY VLADIMIR PUTIN. • TURKEY: NEGOTIATIONS AND IMRALI LEAKS. • IRAQ: NO AGREEMENT OVER BUDGET BETWEEN KURDS AND ARABS. • ROME: THE CHALDEAN PATRIARCH IS ELECTED. • PARIS: THE KURDISH INSTITUTE CELEBRATES ITS THIRTIETH BIRTHDAY. MOSCOW: PRESIDENT MASSUD BARZANI WELCOMED BY VLADIMIR PUTIN ollowing his diplomatic Hawrami, Minister of Natural Iraq had toughened its discourse, tour of Europe in Resources for several years past. threatening foreign companies that January, including to The presence of the last two shows signed contacts with Kurdistan F the Davos summit, The that this visit will cover issues and threatening reprisals against President of the regarding economic development their agreements with Iraq. At that Kurdistan Region, Massud and particularly the exploration time Baghdad’s main targets were Barzani, returned to Irbil for a and operation of Kurdistan’s oil ExxonMobil. -
EU-Turkey Relations and the Stagnation of Turkish Democracy
EU-Turkey Relations and the Stagnation of Turkish Democracy Senem Aydın-Düzgit and E. Fuat Keyman Istanbul Bilgi University and Sabanci University WORKING PAPER 02 EU-Turkey Relations and the Stagnation of Turkish Democracy Senem Aydın-Düzgit and E. Fuat Keyman* Turkey EU Accession Process Democracy Deficit Abstract Introduction The current stagnation of Turkish democracy goes hand in hand with the current impasse in EU-Turkey relations. A combination of domestic Back in August 2004, we published a working paper on the role of factors with a loss of credibility of EU conditionality led to a situation Turkey’s relations with the EU in transforming Turkish democracy in which political reform is substantially stalled and in cases where it as part of a larger project on EU-Turkey relations conducted by the is realised, it is mostly conducted to serve the interests of the ruling Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS) and the Economics and political elite and with no real reference to the EU. The virtuous cycle of Foreign Policy Forum (Aydın and Keyman 2004). The central argument reform that characterised the 1999-2005 period has been replaced by of the paper was that the strengthening credibility of EU conditionality a vicious cycle in which lack of effective conditionality feeds into po- towards Turkey, coupled with favourable domestic and international litical stagnation which in turn moves Turkey and the EU further away dynamics resulted in substantial reforms towards the consolidation from one another. of Turkish democracy. The paper, written prior to the EU’s decision to open accession negotiations with Turkey, concluded that the opening of accession talks with the country on the basis of a fair decision that rests on Turkey’s achievements in its modernity and democracy would constitute a crucial step in remedying the remaining problematic aspects of Turkish democracy. -
A Conversation with Kurdish Artists About Theatre, the Dengbêj Tradition, and the First Kurdish Hamlet
ARTICLES “Acting” under Turkey’s State of Emergency: A Conversation with Kurdish Artists about Theatre, the Dengbêj Tradition, and the First Kurdish Hamlet Pieter Verstraete Although the recent coup attempt of July 15, 2016, resulted in a declared “state of emergency” in Turkey, Kurdish citizens, especially those living in the South East, have experienced what emergency legislation can do to their daily lives and cultural institutions long before (Demiröz 1990, 67) as this region was declared a permanent OHAL1 region in 1987. For example, it is quite common that special security checks or occasional curfews stifle Kurdish theatre performances, thereby limiting audience attendance. It is also standard practice that theatre practitioners across Turkey perform self-censorship in order not to be targeted by verbal attacks in the media or by closure (Siyah Bant 2012). In this essay,2 we explore what is at stake for Kurdish theatre artists who develop their theatre praxis in this difficult socio-political setting, and why it matters to act, both in the general sense and in the theatrical one, in a language that is neither the accepted one of the nation nor of the majority culture. This essay discusses interviews with five prominent Kurdish theatre artists, some based in Turkey and others currently in exile in Europe. The respondents included costume designer Ismail Oyur Tezcanlı (based in Turkey), playwright Yusuf Unay (in Turkey), actor and director Mîrza Metin (in Germany), instructor and director Rezan Aksoy (in Germany), and director Celil Toksöz (in the Netherlands, though not in exile).3 The following is explicitly not a set of interviews but a contextualized “staging” of a debate between voices in the Kurdish artist community. -
Opening Speech
II. National Symposium On The Aegean Islands, 2-3 July 2004, Gökçeada - Çanakkale OPENING SPEECH Ali KURUMAHMUT Prime Ministry of Navigation Counsellorship Marine Transportation General Manager The Aegean Sea lies between the Turkish and the Greek main lands, as well as between the Morea peninsular and the southwestern edges of the Anatolian coasts, with the extension of the islands of Çuha, Küçük Çuha, Girit, Kaşot, Kerpe and Rodos that constitute its outer natural boundaries. In terms of the geographical structure, the Aegean, a semi-closed sea, has geological and geo-morphological characteristics peculiar to itself: it has about 1800 islands, islets and rocks of various sorts, as well as a number of geographical formations, scattered al over the Sea. There is little wonder that all these characteristics make the Aegean Sea a special one. The Aegean dispute between Greece and Turkey has been complicated for a number of reasons: for instance, there are many islands in the Aegean that Turkey ceded to Greece through international treaties. And these islands lying in the natural extension of the Turkish mainland surround Anatolia from north to the south. But Athens makes claims of sovereignty over many islands, islets, and rocks though Ankara never ceded any of them to Greece officially. The most obvious and famous case would be the Kardak rocks crisis that erupted between Turkey and Greece at the beginning of 1996. These complications make the Aegean a sea that is of special importance among the seas of the world. It is possible to divide the Aegean Islands into five categories in terms of their geographical locations, geological and geo-morphological characteristics, the historical perspectives of the sovereign powers to which they belonged, the manner in which the sovereignty over them was determined through international treaties, as well as their importance for geo-political and strategic purposes. -
The Collapse of the Peace Process with the Kurds in Turkey
Back to Square One? The Collapse of the Peace Process with the Kurds in Turkey Gallia Lindenstrauss The Kurdish question is one of the fundamental problems, if not the most important, facing the Turkish republic. Since the 1980s, some 40,000 people have been killed in the violent struggle between Turkey’s central government and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, the PKK. Serious efforts were made to promote solutions during the tenure of President Turgut Ozal in the early 1990s, but since its rise to power in 2002, the Justice and Development Party has made the most progress on the issue compared to previous governments. Since 2008, and in greater intensity since the end of 2012, Turkey promoted a peace process between the government and the Kurdish minority. However, in July 2015, the process collapsed, leading to renewed violence between the sides, especially in the southeast of the country. Compared to the past, the PKK is putting more emphasis on urban warfare. Consequently, one of the Turkish army’s reactions to the renewed hostilities has been to impose an extended curfew on several neighborhoods and towns with a Kurdish majority, which severely disrupts the population’s routine of life. While past talks between the government and the Kurdish minority have also ended without a resolution and have seen the resumption of fighting, it seems that this time the escalation is more acute. Statements such as that made by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Turkey’s objective is “to annihilate” the armed Kurds 1 raise concern that it will be extremely difficult to revive the peace process anytime soon.