by Halil M. Karaveli (vol. 6, no. 15 of the Turkey Analyst)

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s resurrection of the ideological militancy of a bygone era is not a recipe for political success. The class dynamics that once brought about the moderation of the Turkish Islamic movement are even stronger today. Differences of culture and life style still separate the two middle classes of Turkey, the religiously conservative Anatolian bourgeoisie and the secular bourgeoisie. Yet, Turkey’s political future will likely be shaped by their synergy, indeed alliance. It is reasonable to expect that the material interests of the combined bourgeoisie will revive political moderation.

by John Daly (vol. 6 no. 15 of the Turkey Analyst)

Turkey is actively seeking to restore the Silk Road, and the country’s massive investment in railway expansion is an expression of this ambition. Turkey’s massive railway projects are certainly going to bolster its ambitions to be a major transport corridor, which in turn will have geo-strategic consequences. When the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars rail line becomes operational by 2014, it will offer for the first time the Caucasian and Central Asian post-Soviet states an east-west transit corridor not under Russian control, breaking Moscow’s domination which began in the late 19^th century when rail lines first began to be built there.

by Gareth Jenkins (vol. 6 no. 14 of the Turkey Analyst)

On August 5, 2013, a court in the Turkish town of Silivri, 45 miles west of Istanbul, delivered its verdicts in the long-running Ergenekon case. A total of 242 of the 275 defendants were convicted of belonging to what prosecutors describe as the “Ergenekon terrorist organization”. Nineteen received life sentences, while 24 were acquitted. Verdicts were postponed against six defendants who had already fled Turkey. Charges were dropped against the three who died before the completion of the trial.