Politics
From The Report: Turkey 2012
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The nation’s efforts over the past decade have seen slow progress on its bid to join the EU, however, Turkey has become vastly more prominent on an international scale. While still hamstrung by the Kurdish issue, the country’s “Good Neighbour” policy has made it a key partner in engagement with Western powers. Internally, the AKP is credited with providing the stability that has ushered in Turkey’s economic success in the past decade, and it is unlikely that the opposition will achieve success in the coming years without cooperation with the leading party.

The Politics chapter contains interviews with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Prime Minister of Turkey; Ahmet Davutoğlu, the Minister of Foreign Affairs; Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, the President of the Turkish Foreign Economic Relations
Board (DEİK); and Joe Biden, the Vice-President of the US.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

New realities: Recent years have brought a remarkable political transformation
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Reforms to bring the country more into line with EU standards, driven by a widespread desire to make Turkey a more democratic and free-market-based economy, have gone hand-in-hand with increased government popularity, stability and economic growth. Indeed, there is a great new confidence in Turkish politics and society. This has also led to a greater assertiveness in the international field, where many now see the country as a positive role model for development throughout the Muslim world. The…

Analysis

Setting an example: Regional peace high on the agenda as the country seeks to strengthen its role model status
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With its thriving economy, democratic system and moderately Islamist leadership, in recent years, Turkey has been frequently put forward as a role model for other nations in the Islamic world. This has been helped by growing soft power, evident in everything from the popularity of Turkish soap operas in Egypt to the ubiquity of Turkish goods in Iraq. Turkey appears to combine successfully both Western and Muslim worlds; indeed, what was once seen by many to be an identity crisis is now widely…

Viewpoint

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the government’s new investment incentives programme
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Turkey is in a unique economic position and is significantly more prosperous than it was a decade ago. This is due, in large part, to our party’s efforts to create a reliable, stable and predictable political and economic environment. Since late 2002 – except during the peak of the recent global financial crisis in 2009 – the Turkish economy has been in constant development, and today, investors can look forward with trust that the government is paving the way for business with safe…

Interview

Multi-dimensional policy: OBG talks to Ahmet Davutoğlu, Minister of Foreign Affairs
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Interview: Ahmet Davutoğlu How does Turkey hope to influence and be influenced by its foreign partnerships? AHMET DAVUTOĞLU: Thanks to the economic, political and social progress that Turkey achieved in the past decade, we were entrusted with more responsibility and have concurrently acquired more tools for engaging the region and beyond. We began pursuing a more proactive foreign policy fashioned around the vision of averting crisis, reaping opportunities of the post-Soviet age and contributing…

Interview

Shifting focus: OBG talks to Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, President, Foreign Economic Relations Board (DE K)
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Interview: Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu How did MENA political unrest and EU/US economic stagnation effect Turkish firms? Have Turkish exporters been able to diversify to other markets? RIFAT HİSARCIKLIOĞLU: Historically, European countries have been the major trading partners of Turkish firms. The share of Turkey’s total exports to Europe was 66% in 2007. After global financial crisis started, the demand for Turkish goods from the European market declined, so Turkish firms began looking for…

Analysis

The only show in town: High-profile investigations and court cases are dominating the headlines
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Perhaps nothing has been more symbolic of the transformation in Turkish society over the past few years than the string of indictments the country’s courts have recently been issuing against senior military figures. The country is in the thick of a major, public reassessment and reform of the relationship between its soldiers and civilians – and thus between its past and present. This provokes a deal of controversy both inside and outside Turkey, and is part of a complex process. It has seen…

Viewpoint

Joe Biden, US Vice-President, on the importance of entrepreneurship
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The US and Turkey have been NATO allies since 1952, and our economic and military relationships are flourishing. Trade between the two countries grew by 45% in 2011 alone, to the benefit of both the American and the Turkish people. In June of 2009 President Barack Obama announced our intent to deepen ties between American entrepreneurs and their counterparts from countries around the world that have significant Muslim populations. Nearly a year later, the first Global Entrepreneurship Summit…