Editorial Note

Special Issue

Turkey in the Spotlight

Italy, Turkey and the European Union
Lamberto Dini
This article stresses the long and fruitful political and economic relations between Turkey and Italy. Italy has always worked toward bringing Turkey closer to Europe, proposing instruments to prevent it from "feeling rejected" and to emphasise its European vocation. Turkey on its part is encouraged to adopt behaviours more in line with European parameters, especially as concerns its Kurdish minority. Recent tensions should be overcome by strengthening cooperation between Turkey, Italy and the European Union.

The Kurdish Issue: A Turkish Point of View
Mumtaz Soysal
What is called "the Kurdish issue" does not stem from a racist prejudice against ethnic Kurds in Turkey. It is the consequence of a number of factors: historic events due to the occupation of Ottoman territories in the region by the British after the First World War; separation of the Kurdish population by a borderline artificially drawn; the religiously fundamentalist nature of the Kurdish revolt after the founding of the republic; the use of violence by feudal Kurds; neglect of the region on the part of the republican government; neglect of national education in the national language; economic and social underdevelopment, etc. Therefore, the overall solution for the southeastern region of Anatolia cannot be envisaged on an ethnic basis. The problem must be considered within the context of a national programme of decentralization and effective local government, the granting of individual cultural rights that can be collectively exercised in return for effective application of a national education in the "national language", that is Turkish.

A Synopsis of the Kurdish Problem
Dogu Ergil
The article offers a concise outline of the major reasons for the "Kurdish problem" in Turkey, arguing that the vicious circle created by Kurdish terrorism and official repression of Kurdishness must be broken. In addition, the Kurds must overcome their inability to agree among themselves and to develop a peaceful political movement and must struggle to democratise the countries in which they live.

Europe and the Kurds
Danielle Mitterrand
Europe once again gave proof of its political immaturity by failing to take advantage of the occasion offered by the arrival in Rome in November 1998 of Abdullah Ocalan, the head of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, to contribute to solving a situation that now concerns it directly. Public opinion is aware of the importance of a negotiated peace, but Europe’s unwillingness to take action revealed a double standard as far as human and minority rights are concerned.

Turkey’s Domestic Political Landscape: A Glance at the Past and the Future
William Hale
Will Turkey be able to develop an effective and reasonably stable democratic political system? How serious are the challenges of Islamic radicalism and Kurdish nationalism? Is the Turkish army still a dominant political actor? These are some of the questions addressed in this article, which attempts to answer them in the light of Turkey’s political experiences since 1995, and examines possible solutions.

The Turkish State and Democracy
Hugh Poulton
The article looks at the political and administrative concept of Turkey as a centralised unitary state, its democratic development since 1950 and the continuing influence of the all powerful National Security Council. The restrictions on political activity of Kurdish, Islamic and socialist parties is studied as well as the general legal impediments to freedom of expression from the 1982 Constitution downwards. The article also looks at extra-judicial state measures such as torture and killings.

Bridge or Frontier? Turkey’s Post-Cold War Geopolitical Posture
Shireen Hunter
The collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991 and the Persian Gulf war of 1991 fundamentally altered Turkey’s geopolitical environment. These developments presented both challenges and opportunities for Turkey, although on balance Turkey has benefited from the post-Soviet geopolitical shifts. By and large, Turkey has pursued a constructive policy towards the post-Soviet space and has tried to reconcile its various interests and aspirations striking a balance between continuity and change and daring and caution in its post-Soviet diplomacy.

Turkey’s Strategic Options
Ian O. Lesser
Turkey has been profoundly affected by international developments, and now has a more active foreign policy debate. Strains in relations with the West and opportunities elsewhere raise the question of whether Turkey has alternatives to its traditional Western orientation. This analysis suggests that Ankara now has wider options, but no viable strategic alternatives to alignment with the West. Turkey will, however, be a more independent and assertive actor in key regions.

The West and Turkey:Varying Roles, Common Interests
John Roper
This article addresses the convergence and divergence of Western European and United States approaches to Turkey. It looks at Turkey as part of the European security system, as a partner for the West in southeastern Europe and the Middle East, at Kemalism as a model for political development elsewhere, as well as at Turkey and the geopolitics of energy, weapons of mass destruction and new trans-national risks. It concludes with proposals for the development by the United States and Europe of a continuing partnership with Turkey.

Turkey and European Institutions
Gulnur Aybet
This article explores Turkey’s evolving relationship with the EU, NATO and the WEU, and the extent to which Turkey’s relationship with Western European institutions actually defines Turkey’s own 'Western' identity. It shows that during the Cold War, Turkey’s place as part of Western Europe – a concept defined largely around security considerations – was unquestioned, but that after its end, Turkey’s ongoing relationship with Western European institutions is more problematic. Two parallel processes – the evolution of the institutions themselves and the evolution of sociological, economic and demographic factors in Turkey – have over time created a rift in Turkey’s and the EU’s expectations of each other.

Turkey and the Cyprus Question
Hansjörg Brey
The article examines the past and present factors that make Cyprus an issue of both Turkish foreign and domestic policy and the scenarios posed by the island’s possible accession to the European Union. It then goes on to suggest military de-escalation, slowing down of the arms race and attenuation of the hatred and prejudices on both sides as ways to maintain peace and reduce security risks on Cyprus. President Clerides’ decision last December to refrain from deploying missiles is a step in the right direction.

The Kurdish Issue in Turkey
Mirella Galletti
The articles gives an overview of the factors that have led to and exacerbated the Kurdish problem in Turkey, including the Turkish state’s refusal to recognise the Kurdishness of the Kurds, its perception of the Kurd problem as a threat to the indivisibility of the state, and the terrorism of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The article briefly describes the PKK and the other Kurdish political parties and their vicissitudes, as well as recent regional events affecting relations between Kurds and the Turkish state. It concludes that, given the Kurds’ dispersal and internal divisions, the emergence of an independent Kurdistan is unlikely. Thus, the West should encourage democratic reforms in Turkey leading to full rights of citizenship and the democratic integration of this ethnic group.

IAI Library Note
Maritza Cricorian