Perspectives

I came to Turkey in January 2004. It was like a spring of reform back then. Then talks for accession to the EU started in 2005. This energized the society. It might have been naïve, but we thought that there would be progress in terms of democracy and that crucial steps would be taken in the next ten to 20 years.

There are significant similarities and continuities between the Unionists and Abdülhamid. It is true that the Unionists passed through a short liberal period and believed in the possibility of a merger of all these elements under a democratic or parliamentarian regime for the sake of the survival of the Ottoman Empire. But it did not last long. I do not mean to say that it was very likely to have happened but an alternative order was possible in 1908. Interview...

The Religious Culture and Morality lesson should be either transformed into a fully-fledged program of the study of religion or mechanisms of exemption should be established to defend individuals discrimination. If Turkey adopts the first option, Toledo Guiding Principles on Teaching about Religions and Beliefs in Public Schools published by the OSCE in 2007 may offer guidance.

The path dependency of Turkey has increased and the alternatives have diminished. Furthermore, the foreign policy has lost its strategical quality, depth and maneuverability in the turbulence created by the ideological and domestically biased political decisions, which are compounded due to the Syrian issue. It seems that after all these interventions, Turkey has become a passive rather than an active player, although it continues to be a party to the discussions thanks to its geopolitical importance.

After the restructuring of the agricultural production in Turkey in accordance with the basin-based agriculture model, which is best documented in the “Turkey Agricultural Basin Production and Support Model,” all agricultural lands in Turkey were divided into thirty basins. Even though tobacco had been traditionally produced in twenty three basins, the Production and Support Model did not entail tobacco farming, and therefore tobacco farmers were deprived of state supports, including supports for crude petroleum and fertilizers. The only state support provided to tobacco farmers was land analysis expertise.

Energy investments, especially nuclear energy investments, are not based on needs but political decisions. No one asks the populace what they think during the decision-making phase or in implementation process. Governments in Turkey know that if they did, the answer would probably be not one they would want to hear.

The provision which allows the police to conduct strip searches and wiretapping without a judge’s permission is an instrument which will bolster plans to intern public “enemies” on a large scale. The legal system gives place to detention camps, and citizens turn into “enemies”.

There are no female MPs in 43 out of 81 provinces. This democratic deficit can only be changed through a very radical change in the process of nomination. In this regard, the People’s Democratic Party (HDP), whose charter guarantees “at least equal representation for women in all decision- making mechanisms” can be taken as a good practice. The presence of co-chairs in party organs and local government is another exemplary practice for the equal representation of genders. This model or similar models could be adopted by other political parties.

The G20 seems to lag behind in acknowledging that gender is one of the fundamental dimension to be considered. Given that its policy stance holds critical implications for gender justice, scrutinizing the G20 from a gender perspective is crucial, especially under the light of its unfolding role and importance in terms of structuring the future of world economies.

The Political Declaration adopted in the 59th session, reflects the endeavours of the pressure groups that consists of the Vatican and some fundamentalist Muslim and Christian governments to include conservative values in the declaration, such as promoting maternal roles for women, strengthening the heterosexual family and controlling women’s sexual and bodily rights.