Table of Contents
Introduction xi
Chapter 1 Turkish Modernization Project 1
The Roots of Tension 1
Is Modernism Limited to Reforms Alone? 3
Formalism and Mimicry 5
Is Non-Western Modernization Possible? 7
Turkey: A Unique Example 8
State-Religion Relations 10
Demand for Good Governance 12
Can the Turkish Model Be a Source of Inspiration? 14
The Turkish Model: Breaking the Spirit of Authoritarianism 16
Sui Generis "Model of Secularism"! 18
Ultra-Secularism vs. Democratic Secularism 20
The Democratization of Secularism 22
Transcending Modernity 24
Chapter 2 Relations between the Center and the Periphery 27
The Periphery's Attempts to Integrate with the Center 27
The Codes of Turkish Politics 29
Sociocultural Roots 31
The "Other" Factor in Politics 34
To Be Able to Reconcile with the System or Not 36
June 12, 2011 Elections and the Faint Hope for More Democracy 38
The First Elections of the Post-Kemalist Era and the Hardest Time Yet to Come 40
Nothing Has Changed in the State Center's Ideology: "Reactionaryism" Out; "Abuse of Religion" In! 43
Chapter 3 Politics of Intervention 47
Tracing Telltale Signs of Interventionist Politics 47
The Feb. 28, 1997 Postmodern Coup and Its Hard-hitting Consequences 50
Will the Military Ghost Rise Again? 52
Coups Cannot Always Be Repeated 55
The Ergenekon Case: The Ontological, Essential, and Historical Correlations 57
Domestic and International Dimensions of the Ergenekon Case 59
The Sledgehammer Coup Plot 61
The Military's Influence on Civil Politics 64
Social Psychology of Military-Civilian Relations 66
Chapter 4 The Steep Slopes of Democracy: Pinnacles and Pitfalls 69
The Austere Passageway of Democracy 69
The 2010 Referendum Campaign: "Not Enough, but Yes" 71
"Nay" to the Century-Old Military Tutelage 73
The Meaning of a Civilian Constitution for Turkey 76
The Question of Party Closures 78
Penetrating into the Codes of the Gezi Park Resistance 80
The impact of Social Media on the Gezi Park Resistance 82
Power Politics and Restricting Freedoms 84
Heading in the Wrong Direction 85
The Illusion of Progress: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back 87
The Kemaiist Stumbling Block to the EU Membership 89
What the EU Fails to See 91
Religion and Politics in Turkey - Part One 93
Religion and Politics in Turkey - Part Two 95
Change of Political Names 97
Coup Plots and the Disgruntled Voters of the AK Party 99
Chapter 5 Prelude to the Tragic Account of the AK Party 103
Wrong Acts Defining the End 103
The Crux of the Problem: A Lack of Ethics and Morality 105
AK Party's Non-Islamic Policies 107
Is the AK Party an Islamist Party? 108
Taking off the Garb of the "National View" and Islamism 110
Erdogan's 2023 Target Lacks Social Capital and Peace 112
We Are on a Wrong Path 115
Growth without Social Justice 117
Chapter 6 Telltale Signs of the Deadlock 121
Making a Complete Mess of Relations at Home and Abroad 121
Why Are We at This Point? 123
Breaking the Promises That Paved the Way for the AK Party 125
Defying the Boss 127
Mistakes in Foreign Policy 129
A Policy That Did Not Work! 131
The Root Cause of Flawed Policies 133
Take It from the Top Again: Failed Foreign Policy 135
Chapter 7 The Saga of the AKP's Fatal Transformation 139
Turning into a Monstrous Dragon 139
Transcendental Conception of State and Power 141
Muslims' Monster 143
Both Religious and Non-Religious 145
Perception of State 146
Bureaucratic Center Assuming the Identity of the Ruling Party 149
New Type of CUP Activism 151
The Century-Old Nemesis, New Partner 153
Interregnum Period (2002-present) 155
Chapter 8 Identity, Community, and Politics 157
Nationalist and Religious Movements 157
Our Identities 159
Return to Religion: Cause or Effect? 161
Interference with Religion 163
Religious Communities and Politics 165
The "Community" Reality in the Postmodern World 167
Communities and the State 169
Scornful Stance against Communities: "After Me, the Flood" 171
Chapter 9 Seeing the Bigger Picture beyond the AKP-Hizmet Row 173
Reincarnation of the Tutelary Regime's Ancient Reflex 173
Failed Policy! 175
All Religious Communities Are under Threat 177
The State Restores Itself! 179
The Meaning of This Crisis 181
Moral Degeneration and Corruption 183
The Shocking Waste of Concerted Efforts 185
Collective Punishment 187
Social Opposition 189
Outdated Anachronism: The Perplexity of the AK Party 191
Tyrannical State Philosophy 193
The Beginning of 2015 195
Chapter 10 National-Transnational Problems and Prospects 197
State Elites' Perception of the Middle East 197
Paradigm Shift: Motherly Role in the Middle East 199
Internal and External Weakness 201
A Model in Terms of the Problem Solving Method 203
A Challenging Solution for Syria 205
The 'IS1L' Pretext 207
Turkey and Palestine 209
The Orientalist Language in Gaza Reports 210
Trade with Israel 212
Expanding Foreign Policy 214
The Kurdish Initiative 216
Domestic and Extraneous Factors of the Kurdish Initiative 218
How to Turn Turkey's Kurdish Problem into an International One 220
The Nest of the PKK and Manipulating Regional Politics 223
The Abdullah Öcalan Factor 224
The Kurdish Phenomenon in Northern Iraq 227
Turks and Kurds: Pursuing Peace and a Common Future Together 229
Chapter 11 The Changing Middle East 231
What Sort of Change Is Global Modernity? 231
Democracy and Modernization 233
Whose Democracy Is it? 235
Democratic Patience for Egypt 237
Opponents of Democracy 239
The Greater Middle East Project 241
A Way Out 243
Breaking Free of the Straitjacket with Internal Dynamics 245
The Discourse of "Barbarians in the Middle East" 247
The Political Destiny of the Middle East 249
Occupation Forces Left a Legacy of Crisis 251
Does Anybody Really Know? 253
Whose Turn Is Next after Syria? 255
The Iranian Threat? 257
Between the Merciful Tent of Empathy and the Brutal Antipathy 259
Call for Reason 261
Why Are We in Conflict with Each Other? 263
The Region at a Critical Juncture 265
Chapter 12 Human Rights 269
West, Islam, and Human Rights 269
Human Rights: Common Definitions and Varying Attitudes 271
Majority and Minority 273
Kurds and Their Rights 275
Islamic Rights of Non-Muslims 277
Chapter 13 Clash or Dialogue of Civilizations 279
Have the Clashes Ended? 279
Islam and Terror 281
A Carefully Orchestrated Fear: Islamophobia 283
"Islamic Terror" - a Smokescreen of Interventions 284
The Arguments and Goals of "Islamophobia" 286
Can Obama Defeat Islamophobia? 288
Europe Should Give up Isolating Itself 290
Reasons Not to Trust the EU 292
Varying Stances on Islam Bear the Potential to Dissociate Europe 294
Dialogue of People from Various Religions 296
The Pro-active Asset of Global Peace: Religious Diversity 298
Mardin Model: The Peaceful Coexistence of Diverse Identities 300
Diversity Is Our Richness 302
Interview: They Have Gained Access to the Secrets of the AK Party's Cosmic Chamber 305
Turkey Fell into the Trap of the Saudis 307
The Erdogan Government Wanted to Dominate the Middle East over Syria 308
We Cannot Overpower Syria 308
There Is a Danger of Irreligiosity Spreading in Turkey 310
Iran and Turkey Can Stop ISIS 311
The AKP Was Carried Away with the Lust of Reviving the Ottomans 312
Arabs Have Understood the Intentions of the Government 313
December 17, 2013: State Restoraton 314
The State Is Going to Make Use of the AK Party to the Full Extent, Then Throw It Away! 315
The Civic Religious Communities Have Turned into State Organizations 316
The AK Party: The Greatest Catasrophe since the Gallipoli War 317
