Overpraising (2)
Fatih Özatay, PhD
25 June 2013
If the economy has vulnerabilities, you need to focus on and try to overcome these instead of praising the economic performance. That’s the responsible thing to do. For the last couple of weeks, Turkey has been raised by international financial institutions among the countries that would be affected most adversely by the latest developments in the financial markets. In some of these institutions’ reports, Turkey is on top of the list. What is going on? Was the Turkish economy not a shining star? Why now it is pronounced among the most vulnerable economies of the world?
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FED: Then and now (3)
Fatih Özatay, PhD
22 June 2013
Turkey has to make sure that this movement will not push unemployment up or GDP down. The way to do this is to prevent any loss of confidence in the economy. On June 1st, I started a series about the impact of the possible changes in the FED’s policy. After two pieces, the Gezi Park incident intervened. Today I want to continue from where I stopped.
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Just open that damned chapter!
Güven Sak, PhD
22 June 2013
The European Union-Turkey relationship has again moved from one extreme to another. The end result is still the same: the accession process is still on hold. It was on hold when all the EU leaders were praising Turkey for its democratic and economic achievements; it is still on hold as some EU leaders are criticizing Turkey’s government for its harsh crackdown on protests and its interference in the press. Like a pendulum, the mood changes, yet the facts remain: Croatia and Turkey started their EU accession processes together. Croatia got in last year, while Turkey is still waiting with quite a few chapters to go. And look who is spearheading the criticism against Turkey’s harsh response to peaceful demonstrators. Angela Merkel. Have we all forgotten Stuttgart 21? It made 2010 the
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Would Mark Zuckerberg take to the park?
Güven Sak, PhD
21 June 2013
In the photo above, Zuckerberg is shaking hands with former French President Sarkozy. Which one do you think looks like the president? Mark Zuckerberg is only 29 years old, which is the average age in Turkey. He founded Facebook as a college student, which later went public and made him a billionaire. His is currently valued at about $14 billion and is the CEO of Facebook. The company that you all know, the one that has “move fast, break things” posters on its walls. These kinds of companies founded by young innovators change the rules. That’s what distinguishes our era. The other day I found myself thinking whether Mark Zuckerberg would go to the Gezi Park protests if he were in Turkey. I believe he would. Let me tell you why.
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Overpraising
Fatih Özatay, PhD
20 June 2013
If the economy grows as expected by 4 percent in 2013, per capita growth rate will be 2.7 percent, lowering the average of the 2204-2013 decade. In my last commentary I talked about average five-year per capita growth rates for each year since 1955. Let me give some more statistics. In the 2003-2007 period, the rate was significantly high, at 5.6 percent. This is the main reason underlying the “Turkey grew so fast” argument that has turned into blind faith. But it all demolishes when we look at the figures for the five-year period ending with 2012: per capita growth rate for the 2008-2012 period is 1.7 percent compared to the average since 1955 at 2.4 percent.
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Turkey’s traditional problems and Prime Minister Erdoğan
Nihat Ali Özcan, PhD
20 June 2013
The government is trying to deal with historically bequeathed traditional problems. These are the Kurdish problem, the Alevi question and the secular-Islamist divide. They are interwoven problems and when they trigger each other, their cumulative effect could become more complex than it may first seem and more difficult to manage. Sometimes there might be a number of reasons incorporated into a unified identity that pushes a single actor to become an activist or a dissenter. Embracing an “official” function representing one of the sides will only make it more difficult for the government to manage the problem. The demonstrations triggered by the Taksim Gezi events spread to other Turkish cities. The cities or suburbs where there are no demonstrations give an idea regarding the dee
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The deepening of polarization and the economy
Fatih Özatay, PhD
18 June 2013
In the current era marked by critical steps in an effort to solve the decades-old Kurdish issue and put an end to the bloodshed, it is beyond comprehension how Turkey is moving towards another trap of polarization.
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What happens to Turkey if Iran becomes normalized?
Güven Sak, PhD
18 June 2013
If Iran becomes normalized, the importance of Turkey in the eyes of its western allies diminishes. Turkey has been snowed in under its own troubles for the last twenty days. That’s not good if you ask me. Not that it’s disreputable to tourists visiting Turkey. It’s a disgrace for the people of Turkey per se. We first insisted on redeveloping the only green space in Taksim as a construction site. Upon the strong reaction, we have withdrawn the project. We are unable to find a middle way or be moderate as we are supposed to. Cities love middle ways.
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A citizens’ movement taking shape in Turkey
Güven Sak, PhD
15 June 2013
Something interesting is happening in Turkey. First of all, I see empathy on the streets. The other day one of the modern day protesters of Turkey was telling me how she had now realized what her sisters with headscarves went through in the recent past. “It was about being aware of what you are wearing by continuously thinking of possible reactions” she added, “in the past, dressing was automatic but now I am very much more conscious of what I wear. I have to think about the dress code for every occasion and I just do not like it.” For the first time, women with and without headscarves are not only demonstrating together, but also sharing an experience. I see that as a development in the right direction. Secondly, for first time in my half a century of living in this country, I
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It is a good idea to hold a local referendum for projects involving Taksim
Güven Sak, PhD
14 June 2013
Local projects must be resolved one by one upon thorough discussions at the local level. Finally, yesterday there was a relevant and normal development. Hüseyin Çelik, deputy head of the AKP, following his meeting with the representatives of the Gezi Park protestors, stressed that the project “perhaps” might be voted on in a local referendum. I believe that the Gezi Park project should be put to a referendum. Turkey should have democratic tools of freedom of expression where local issues can be elaborated at the local level. If some people think that Taksim should be turned into a construction heaven and that trees idly occupy the park, they must have the right to say so. Yet I don’t believe there are people with this view. I will tell you why.
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