By Halil M. Karaveli (vol. 3, no. 15 of the Turkey Analyst)

The popular approval of the constitutional amendments opens the way to the presidency for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Further, it is now likely that Erdoğan will seek to introduce a presidential system. That prospect is sure to stoke the fears that Turkey is moving toward authoritarianism. Yet the introduction of a presidential system could in fact also facilitate a resolution of the Kurdish problem.

By Gareth H. Jenkins (vol. 3, no. 15 of the Turkey Analyst)

Turkey’s military-dominated “deep state” has now almost disappeared. But a new book by a widely respected police a chief has shocked Turkey as it claims that the old deep state has been replaced by another system of networks able to influence and control political and judicial processes from inside the apparatus of state. The allegations raise disturbing questions about the role played by the followers of the preacher Fethullah Gülen.

By Svante E. Cornell (vol. 3, no. 14 of the Turkey Analyst)

On September 12, Turkey will vote on a package of constitutional amendments. Yet the campaign has turned more into a referendum on the AKP government and on Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan than on the merits of the amendments proposed. The campaign has been marked by the acrimonious tone between the main political leaders. It has thus served to underscore the polarization of Turkish society.. Essentially, the campaign is a major dress rehearsal for the general elections that must be held by July 2011, and not least a test of the stamina of the first major political challenger to Erdoğan’s AKP, CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.