This book expands upon transitions in political and societal fabric of Turkey together with its eventual reorientation of foreign policy in broader regional and global contexts during the Justice and Freedom Party era.

The ongoing turbulence in Turkey's domestic and international politics raises a number of crucial questions. What explains the movement toward one-party, and even one-person, rule? What role does Islam play in the ideology and policies of the ruling party and its leader, Recep Tayyip Erdogan Is the country's long commitment to secular rule a thing of the past - and if so, with what consequences for Turkish society? What is Turkey's likely international role in the Middle East and beyond? These are among the key issues addressed in this comprehensive analysis of the actors and factors driving recent developments in Turkish politics at home and abroad.

This exciting new textbook provides a broad and comprehensive overview of contemporary Turkey. Placing the country and its people within the context of a rapidly globalizing world, the book covers a diverse range of themes such as politics, economics, international relations, the Turkic world, religion and recent historical background. Tracing the evolution of Turkey’s domestic political and economic systems, and its foreign policy, from the inception of the republic to the present day, the themes covered include: the impact of globalization on Turkey’s society, politics, economy and foreign policy the role of the EU and the Turkish diaspora in the evolution of Turkish policies the main features and prominent role of Kemalism turkish foreign policy, and the new challenges and opportunities brought by the end of the cold war the position of Turkey as a ‘bridge’ between East and West, and the particular and unique dilemmas confronting a Muslim but economically developed, democratized state allied to the West Kurdish identity the Fethullah Gulen movement and the Armenian ‘genocide’. Situating the country as a ‘model’ for the wider Muslim world, this sophisticated analysis of one of the largest and most important states in the Middle East will be an invaluable resource for scholars and officials interested in Turkish politics and US foreign and security policies, and for students of the Balkan, Middle Eastern, Caucasus and Central Asian regions.

What will power look like in the century to come? Imperial Great Britain may have been the model for the nineteenth century, Richard Rosecrance writes, but Hong Kong will be the model for the twenty-first. We are entering the Age of the Virtual State -- when land and its products are no longer the primary source of power, when managing flows is more important than maintaining stockpiles, when service industries are the greatest source of wealth and expertise and creativity are the greatest natural resources.Rosecrance's brilliant new book combines international relations theory with economics and the business model of the virtual corporation to describe how virtual states arise and operate, and how traditional powers will relate to them. In specific detail, he shows why Japan's kereitsu system, which brought it industrial dominance, is doomed; why Hong Kong and Taiwan will influence China more than vice-versa; and why the European Union will command the most international prestige even though the U.S. may produce more wealth.

Although Turkey began its transition to democracy as early as the 1950s, it is still far from having reached a level of consolidated democracy with the country's sixty-year history of democratic politics being punctuated by numerous breakdowns and restorations of democracy. In an attempt to examine why consolidation of Turkish democracy has taken so long, this book aims at analyzing various factors including state, political parties, civil society, civil-military relations, socio-economic development, the EU as an international actor and the rise of internal threats (political Islam and separatist Kurdish nationalism) that both hinder and enhance democratic consolidation in Turkey. By highlighting the strengths and shortcomings of the Turkish experience from these perspectives, this book suggests the optimal policy priorities for current and future Turkish governments to establish a consolidated democracy in Turkey. Contributors: Muge Aknur, Canan Aslan-Akman, Filiz Baskan, Gulgun Erdogan-Tosun, Siret Hursoy, Aysegul Komsuoglu, Gul M. Kurtoglu-Eskisar, Yesim Kustepeli, Nazif Mandaci, Ibrahim Saylan, & Ugur Burc Yildiz.

Turkey is a rising regional and global power facing, as is the United States, the challenges of political transitions in the Middle East, bloodshed in Syria, and Iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons. As a result, it is incumbent upon the leaders of the United States and Turkey to define a new partnership "in order to make a strategic relationship a reality," says a new Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)-sponsored Independent Task Force.

"Turkey is a country with a history of multiparty electoral competition going back to 1950, longer than many other nations in the world. Until recently, it was often perceived as a model country that showed the feasibility of democratic governance in a Muslim-majority society. However, the rise of religious-nationalist populism and sociopolitical polarization has resulted in an authoritarian turn that has stifled political liberalization. Turkish foreign policy has had strong linkages with the West but now exhibits a more independent and assertive position. Turkish national identity remains exclusionary as citizens not belonging to the dominant ethnic and religious groups face various levels of discrimination. Political violence persists in the forms of state repression, insurgent attacks, and terrorism; nevertheless, Turkish civil society continues to be resilient. The economy has exhibited sustained levels of growth, though it remains vulnerable to crises. The Oxford Handbook of Turkish Politics includes in-depth analyses of all these issues in conversation with the broader scholarly literature on authoritarianism and democratization, political economy, electoral politics, the politics of identity, social movements, foreign policy, and the politics of art. With contributions by leading experts, the handbook is an authoritative source offering state-of-the-art reviews of the scholarship on Turkish politics. The volume is an analytical, comprehensive, and comparative overview of contemporary politics in a country that literally and figuratively epitomizes "being at the crossroads.""--

The Routledge Handbook of Turkish Politics pulls together contributions from many of the world’s leading scholars on different aspects of Turkey. Turkey today is going through possibly the most turbulent period in its history, with major consequences both nationally and internationally. The country looks dramatically different from the Republic founded by Atatürk in 1923. The pace of change has been rapid and fundamental, with core interlinked changes in ruling institutions, political culture, political economy, and society. Divided into six main parts, this Handbook provides a single-source overview of Turkish politics: Part I: History and the making of Contemporary Turkey Part II: Politics and Institutions Part III: The Economy, Environment and Development Part IV: The Kurdish Insurgency and Security Part V: State, Society and Rights Part VI: External Relations This comprehensive Handbook is an essential resource for students of Politics, International Relations, International/Security Studies with an interest on contemporary Turkey.

The strategic relationship between the United States and Turkey is over. While Turkey remains formally a NATO ally, it is not a partner of the United States. The United States should not be reluctant to oppose Turkey directly when Ankara undermines U.S. policy.

Turkey: A necessary ally in a troubled region With the new administration in office, it is not clear whether the U.S. will continue to lead and sustain a global liberal order that was already confronted by daunting challenges. These range from a fragile European Union rocked by the United Kingdom’s exit and rising populism to a cold war-like rivalry with Russia and instability in the Middle East. A long-standing member of NATO, Turkey stands as a front-line state in the midst of many of these challenges. Yet, Turkey is failing to play a more constructive role in supporting this order--beyond caring for nearly 3 million refugees, mostly coming from the fighting in Syria--and its current leadership is in frequent disagreement with its Western allies. This tension has been compounded by a failed Turkish foreign policy that aspired to establish its own alternative regional order in the Middle East. As a result, many in the West now question whether Turkey functions as a dependable ally for the United States and other NATO members. Kemal Kirisci’s new book argues that, despite these problems, the domestic and regional realities are now edging Turkey toward improving its relations with the West. A better understanding of these developments will be critical in devising a new and realistic U.S. strategy toward a transformed Turkey and its neighborhood. Western policymakers must keep in mind three on-the-ground realities that might help improve the relationship with Turkey. First, Turkey remains deeply integrated within the transatlantic community, a fact that once imbued it with prestige in its neighborhood. It is this prestige that the recent trajectory of Turkish domestic politics and foreign policy has squandered; for it to be regained, Turkey needs to rebuild cooperation with the West. The second reality is that chaos in the neighborhood has resulted in the loss of lucrative markets for Turkish exports—which, in return, increases the value to Turkey of Western markets. Third, Turkish national security is threatened by developments in Syria and an increasingly assertive Russia, enhancing the strategic value of Turkey’s “troubled alliance” with the West. The big question, however, is whether rising authoritarianism in Turkey and the government’s anti-Western rhetoric will cease and Turkey’s democracy restored before the current fault lines can be overcome and constructive re-engagement between the two sides can occur. In light of these realities, this book discusses the challenges and opportunities for the new U.S. administration as well as the EU of re-engaging with a sometimes-troublesome, yet long-time ally.