Europe & Central Asia Archives - Page 13 of 14

Democracy

Political Narratives and Authoritarian Consolidation in Turkey

Telling a different story about July 15

October 16, 2017 • by Ates Altinordu

Although more than a year has passed since the event, many details about the planning and implementation of the coup remain unknown. The “confessions” released to the public seem heavily filtered by the government, and a parliamentary commission charged with investigating the coup attempt has curiously neglected to question key ...

Europe & Central Asia

The Tragedy of the 2015 Turkish Elections

Examining the AKP victory

November 10, 2015 • by Ertug Tombus

The November 2015 election brought a landslide victory to the Justice and Development Party (AKP), increasing its vote almost nine points in 5 months. This surprising comeback would be hard to explain in an ordinary situation where such drastic shifts in voting in a short time period would not be ...

The Tragedy of the 2015 Turkish Elections

Europe & Central Asia

On the Ankara Massacre

October 11, 2015 • by Jeffrey C. Goldfarb

While I empathize with this mood, I have been frustrated by the reports I have read about the massacre in my usual news sources, as have many of my associates who are from Turkey (Zeyno included) or follow events there carefully. A former student, Solen Sanli made things clear on ...

Europe & Central Asia

Reflections on the Recent Elections in Turkey

The disintegration of majoritarianism through elections and social protest

June 15, 2015 • by Kumru Toktamis

During the summer of 2010, as I was strolling in Lower Manhattan with my 75-year-old mother, we came upon Professor Andrew Arato at a café. At the time, he was gaining quite a bit of notoriety in my home country of Turkey with his substantive and significant support to the ...

Europe & Central Asia

We Say No to the “Sacred Union”

January 22, 2015 • by Public Voices

In the aftermath of the killings at Charlie Hebdo and Hyper Cacher, critical voices have largely been drowned in the general sea of undifferentiated outrage. But this statement by French colleagues, which recently appeared in Le Monde, is a major intervention and a welcome exception.

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Europe & Central Asia

Is Solidarity Without Identity Possible?

On the Charlie Hebdo attack

January 10, 2015 • by Cinzia Arruzza

The time I saw Charb in Paris was January 24, 2010, the day of the crowded commemoration of the French philosopher and activist Daniel Bensaïd at La Mutualité. During the speeches, Charb kept drawing and projecting vignettes about his comrade Daniel, whose book, Marx: Mode ...

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Europe & Central Asia

The Overlooked Besieged Alternative in the Middle East

The Rojava Cantons

October 13, 2014 • by Hakan Topal

In my previous article I wrote about how both soft and hard Islamists render a very dark future for the Middle East. I finished my article by stating that the Kurdish Movement may provide a salient alternative for the whole region. However, this alternative is currently under attack by ...
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Europe & Central Asia

Adding Injustice to Injury

One year on from the Gezi Park protests in Turkey

June 20, 2014 • by Public Voices

Our colleague, Zeyno Ustun, is back in Istanbul this month. We corresponded about the situation there on the occasion of the anniversary of the Gezi protests. She reports political paralysis with maximum police presence and sent a report from Amnesty International that she judges to summarize the situation ...
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Europe & Central Asia

Gezi Resistance: Re-claiming Democracy

October 30, 2013 • by Ertug Tombus

A prominent political theorist, Judith Shklar, once said that the rule of law has become “a self-congratulatory rhetorical device” [1] used by the politicians, who try to legitimize whatever they do just by uttering the word “the rule of law.” I think we can say the same thing for democracy ...
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Europe & Central Asia

The American Dream Comes to Life in Denmark

October 22, 2013 • by Nick Haekkerup and William Milberg

The following is the prepared text of the speech given by Minister Haekkerup on September 28, 2013, at The New School, with an introduction by William Milberg.

Introduction

The word “capitalism,” describing our market-oriented economic system of wage labor, private ownership and the endless drive for wealth accumulation, was invented in the ...
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Europe & Central Asia

Michael Hardt on Continuity and Leadership: An Interview After the Talk Turkey Conference

October 13, 2013 • by Hakan Topal

Michael Hardt at the Occupy Solidarity and Global Consequences panel and here in an interview after the conference, argues that since 2011 -- different from previous "nomadic" global movements -- these new protests have been rooted in territory, demand a new definition of publicity and commons beyond the false “public/private” ...
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Europe & Central Asia

Ten Theses on Constitutional Change in Turkey

October 4, 2013 • by Andrew Arato

1. This, the current Constitution of the Republic of Turkey is no longer the same constitution, the Constitution of 1982. Yes, even partial, but sequential or re-iterated rounds of amendment can produce a new constitutional regime or material constitution. This is what happened in Turkey through amendment rounds in 1987, ...
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