By Halil M. Karaveli (vol. 1, no. 20 of the Turkey Analyst) 

Turkey’s influential liberal intellectuals have become disenchanted with the ruling AKP, which they accuse of having abandoned its initial, reformist agenda. However, disappointed liberals have yet to acknowledge that events could have taken a different turn if they had chosen to exert a corrective influence on their Islamic conservative allies in the AKP. Above all, liberals who truly aspire to be a vanguard of freedom will have to revisit the question of secularism and its democratic implications.

By M. K. Kaya (vol. 1, no. 20 of the Turkey Analyst) 

The traditional Islamists of the Felicity Party (Saadet Partisi) are mounting a new challenge to the ruling, Islamic moderate AKP. For the first time since Turkey’s Islamic movement split into two parts – one moderate and reformist in the form of AKP and the other traditional in the form of the Felicity party – the former, victorious tendency could be facing a serious challenge from within its own core movement. A good showing of the Felicity party in the upcoming local elections would be likely to affect the internal balances of the Islamic movement.

By M. K. Kaya (vol. 1, no. 19 of the Turkey Analyst) 

The effects of the global economic crisis are increasingly making themselves felt in Turkey as well. After having initially taken the position that Turkey would somehow remain shielded from the global unrest, the AKP government has gradually been forced to acknowledge the vulnerability of the Turkish economy. However, with continued political instability and with the upcoming local elections, the AKP government is having severe difficulties in mustering the required ability to manage the unfolding economic crisis.

By Haluk Sahin (vol. 1, no. 18 of the Turkey Analyst)

Turkey is moving towards local elections in March of 2009 in a state of disorientation and flux. The ideological deck of Turkish politics is once again about to be reshuffled. The ruling AKP’s room for political maneuver is seriously curtailed, which creates new opportunities for the opposition parties.

By Svante E. Cornell (vol. 1, no. 16 of the Turkey Analyst) 

Turkey’s Constitutional Court has published its detailed reasoning in two landmark cases, in which it rejected the AKP government’s lifting of the headscarf ban in universities, and found the ruling party guilty of having undermined secularism, but stopped short of closing down the party. While the two cases have been dismissed as political, a closer reading suggests a much more complex reality. The court offers a sophisticated legal and philosophical reasoning, seeking to balance competing principles. This could suggest that the Turkish Constitutional Court is seriously beginning to step into a role as the constitutional provider of check and balances.