Archives Turkey - Page 24 of 44 - New Eastern Outlook

The issue of European integration and Turkey’s eventual accession to the EU remains a strategic prospect for Ankara. However, these plans are still far from reality due to the special position of some key EU players. Perhaps the position of a united Europe will change after the next European Parliament elections. However, Turkish politicians are hardly naive in their calculations for a speedy resolution of the issue of Turkey’s EU membership…

I needed some fresh mindful thinking on Turkey a paradigm shift after the recent Turkish local elections, and what they mean, if anything. It is now clear that Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has suffered an unprecedented defeat that represents more than an election defeat, and a win for the so-called more “progressive” West. This news may be a game changer, for both Turkish domestic politics and its foreign policy…

The Scottish aristocrat and British Prime Minister (1963-1964) Sir Alec Douglas-Hume once said: “There are two problems in my life. The political problems are insoluble and the economic problems are incomprehensible.” His words also reflect very closely the economic realities of modern Turkey. Recep Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power in 2002 amid an economic crisis and widespread criticism of the economic policies of the previous government, led by Bülent Ejavit, which had seen the country’s GDP fall by 10 percent…