By Halil Magnus Karaveli (vol. 1, no. 9 of the Turkey Analyst) 

As the storms gather around the AKP, its rule is by all accounts likely to draw to a close. What went wrong with Turkey’s experiment of moderate Islamism? It is tempting for western observers to conclude that it was sabotaged by a supposedly autocratic, dogmatically secularist state establishment which is unwilling to surrender its positions of power. But the fatal mistake of the Islamists has precisely been to expect the seculars to accept surrender.

By the Editors (vol. 1, no. 9 of the Turkey Analyst)

In late May 2008, three researchers from the Joint Center’s Turkey Initiative met with Turkey’s 9th president, Süleyman Demirel. This is a summary of his comments, which focused on the background to the current Turkish political crisis. Mr. Demirel, a towering figure over Turkey’s conservative forces for half a century, defines the problem as a struggle between modernity and bigotry.

By Halil Magnus Karaveli (vol. 1, no. 8 of the Turkey Analyst)

The ideological confrontation between Islamism and secularism in Turkey is fed by contradictory interpretations of republican history. The enterprise of secularism is either understood as having oppressed religion or as having been insufficiently true to its Enlightenment heritage. How republican history is interpreted will ultimately shape the future course of Turkey.