The book questions the popularity of the notion of tolerance in Turkey, and argues that the regime of tolerance has been strengthened in parallel with the Europeanization process, which has boosted the rhetoric of the Alliance of Civilizations in a way that culturalized what is social and political.

LGBTI Politics and Value Change in Ukraine and Turkey focuses on the impact of European Union promotion of LGBTI rights in Turkey and Ukraine, offering a re-evaluation of the mechanisms used by the EU and the domestic and external conditions that result in different outcomes. With the protection of LGBTI rights becoming one of the core principles of the EU, the last two decades have seen a consistently growing commitment of the Union to defending the human rights of LGBTI people, not only in its member states but also internationally. Drawing on rich empirical data, this work uses the cases of Turkey, a candidate state, and Ukraine, a state in the European Neighbourhood, to evaluate the ability of the EU to promote tolerance and diversity in countries where the population has not experienced a radical shift of attitudes toward LGBTI people. Examining the export of 'European values', politics of LGBTI rights in the enlarged European Union, the development of LGBTI rights in Turkey and the transformation of its political system, competing normative powers and LGBTI rights in Ukraine, Maryna Shevtsova traces the ‘Europeanization’ of rights beyond Europe. This book will be of interest to researchers in LGBTI Studies, Eastern European Politics, the European Union and Gender Studies.

Given the recent inertia in EU-Turkey relations in the midst of regional economic and political upheavals, Europeanization of Turkey takes a step back from the latest headlines to provide a comprehensive stocktaking of EU-inspired reform efforts in Turkey with an eye to understanding how effective or ineffective EU conditionality has been in making Turkey's key political institutions, actors and culture more compatible with European norms. In addition to contributing to the theoretical literature on the differential effects of Europeanization on the domestic realm, this volume also expands the existing scope of research to include questions of how socialization through the accession process operates under high levels of uncertainty about the attainability of European Union membership. Applying a uniform analytical framework and the methodology of process tracing, the authors in this volume assess the nature and degree of change that has occurred in various dimensions of Turkish domestic polity and politics in the context of Turkey's post-1999 EU accession. Engaging with important practical issues such as whether potential membership in the EU has brought about positive change, in which areas this change is manifest, and how significant this change has been, this book is an essential resource for students, scholars and researchers seeking to understand contemporary relations between the EU and Turkey.

Turkey’s candidacy for membership of the European Union has had mixed effects on its public policies. The initial degree of cohesion between EU and Turkish national policies, practices and institutions has varied by the policy field in question, leading to a complex amalgam of fit and misfit between the two actors. Their interaction in different policy areas has had direct influence both on Turkey’s accession to the EU and its own national reform process. With accession negotiations stalled and Turkey’s relationship with the EU increasingly tenuous, it is vital to take stock of the extent to which Turkey and the EU are aligned in key policy areas. The Europeanization of Turkish Public Policies: A Scorecard is the first comprehensive work focusing on the impact of the EU accession process upon Turkey’s public policies between 1999 and 2014. Complementing the authors’ earlier volume Europeanization of Turkey: Polity and Politics, it brings together leading specialists to provide key analyses of the impact of Europeanization on specific areas of Turkey’s public policy. Each chapter applies a core analytical framework to examine a separate policy field, resulting in a consistent and comprehensive volume on Turkey-EU relations. With its focused structure and extensive coverage, concluding with a scorecard enabling informed assessment of the impact of Europeanization on Turkey’s public policy areas, this book provides a one-stop resource for scholars and students alike. A timely and informed assessment of the dynamics and outcome of the Europeanization of an EU candidate country’s major public policy areas, this book represents an essential resource for those interested in EU-Turkey relations, the effects of Europeanization on Turkey, and Turkish politics.

This open access book explores the new complexities and ambiguities that epitomize EU-Turkey relations. With a strong focus on the developments in the last decade, the book provides full access to a comprehensive understanding of the multifaceted relationship through three entry points: (1) Theories and Concepts, (2) Institutions, and (3) Policies. Part I brings together complementary and competing analytical approaches to study the evolution of EU-Turkey relations, ranging from traditional integration theories to novel concepts. Part II investigates the institutional machinery of EU-Turkey relations by analyzing the roles and perspectives of the European Council, the European Commission, and the European Parliament. Part III offers analyses of the policies most relevant for the relationship: enlargement policy, trade and macroeconomic policies, foreign and security policy, migration and asylum policies, and energy policy. In Part IV, the volume closes with a systematic survey of the conditions under which cooperative trends in EU-Turkey relations could be (re)invigorated. The systematic setup and the balanced combination of distinguished experts from EU- and Turkey-based institutions make this book a fundamental reading for students, researchers, lecturers, and practitioners of EU-Turkey relations, European integration and Turkish foreign policy. Wulf Reiners is Senior Researcher and Head of the Managing Global Governance (MGG) Program of the German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut fur Entwicklungspolitik (DIE). Ebru Turhan is Assistant Professor at the Department of Political Science and International Relations, Turkish-German University in Istanbul, Turkey.

This book focuses on the emergence of different forms of civic and political activism in Turkey. It has taken into account different components of active citizenship, specifically looking at the development of civic and political forms of activism that bridge the realms of conventional and non-conventional participation. Focusing on the effects of the 2013 Gezi Park protests—which originated in Istanbul but spread throughout the country—this book reflects on how this experience might re-orient current on civic and political participation in Turkey. Specifically focusing on the main dynamics of non-conventional forms of civic and political activism, this volume attempts to understand the impact of non-conventional forms of political participation on voting behaviour. The internal domestic conditions of the country, as well as its role in the international arena, have dramatically changed since 2013, and are constantly evolving due to the domestic societal and political cleavages, and the regional problems in the Middle East. Yet, the papers in the book reflect upon the significance of occupygezi nowadays, demonstrating not only its importance in questioning the link between the patrimonial state and its citizens, but also for stimulating participatory behaviours. The chapters originally published as a special issue in Turkish Studies.

The EU is changing, Turkey too, and - above all - there is systemic change and crisis all round, ranging from economics, the spread of democratic norms and foreign policy. This research paper explores how the EU and Turkey can enhance their cooperation in the political, economic, and foreign policy domains and how they can find a way out of the stalemate EU-Turkey relations have reached with the lack of progress in accession negotiations and the increasing uncertainty over both the future of the European project after the Eurozone crisis and Turkey's role in it.

Focusing on current workplace issues and employee and employer expectations of Human Resource Management in a rapidly changing business environment, this book examines current trends of HR practices and expands on current literature.

This book examines the decade in office of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its efforts to transform the Turkish republic toward a more Islamist-oriented system. If it succeeds, Turkey’s dramatic shift will be the most important change in the Middle East power balance since the 1979 Iranian revolution and will have equally devastating effects on Western interests. For more than 80 years Turkey has been ruled by the secular democratic structures created by Kemal Ataturk. Now, however, the rise of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and its series of electoral victories are creating a new system. Whilst portraying itself as a centre-right reform party, the AKP has been accused of having an Islamist agenda. After almost a decade in power, there is serious evidence that this claim is true. At home, the AKP has been changing basic Turkish attitudes and institutions, from buying up a large portion of the country’s media to revising its laws, and even taking the lead in the writing of a new constitution. Internationally, Turkey has moved away from the West and Israel toward Iran and radical Islamist groups. While its intentions—and ability to fulfil them—are still unclear, the AKP has been leading the most important transformation of Turkey since the formation of the republic after World War I. This book systematically examines the AKP’s ideology, support base, actions in office, and goals. This book was published as a special issue of the Turkish Studies.

How did the Turkish-Kurdish Conflict arise? Why have Turks and Kurds failed for so long to solve it? How can they solve it today? How can social scientists better analyze this and other protracted conflicts and propose better prescriptions for sustainable peace? Return to Point Zero develops a novel framework for analyzing the historical-structural and contemporary causes of ethnic-national conflicts, highlighting an understudied dimension: politics. Murat Somer argues that intramajority group politics rather than majority-minority differences better explains ethnic-national conflicts. Hence, the political-ideological divisions among Turks are the key to understanding the Turkish-Kurdish Conflict; though it was nationalism that produced the Kurdish Question during late-Ottoman imperial modernization, political elite decisions by the Turks created the Kurdish Conflict during the postimperial nation-state building. Today, ideational rigidities reinforce the conflict. Analyzing this conflict from "premodern" times to today, Somer emphasizes two distinct periods: the formative era of 1918–1926 and the post-2011 reformative period. Somer argues that during the formative era, political elites inadequately addressed three fundamental dilemmas of security, identity, and cooperation and includes a discussion of how the legacy of those political elite decisions impacted and framed peace attempts that have failed in the 1990s and 2010s. Return to Point Zero develops new concepts to analyze conflicts and concrete conflict-resolution proposals.