Kurdish oil, the pipeline, and the PKK
Nihat Ali Özcan, PhD
24 May 2012
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Necirvan Barzani paid a visit to Ankara last week. The Turkish government showed him great hospitality, because there were a lot of issues on the table. For example, the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) issue, Baghdad, Iran, Syria, economic relations and, most importantly, oil. Although the priorities of both sides differ, oil is the top issue.Minister of Energy Taner Yıldız wasted no time and flew to Erbil to attend an energy conference there, which proves how vital the issue is. At the conference, KRG Energy Minister Hawram’i said “In August 2013, we will be able to directly export crude from the Kurdish Region’s oilfields.” Apparently the KRG wants to export oil directly to the market, bypassing Baghdad. Turkey has been s
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The institutionalization of sycophancy
Güven Sak, PhD
24 May 2012
Lately, I have become convinced that it would be useful to form the legislation and execution via separate elections. I was born in the first half of the 1960s. Süleyman Demirel had become the prime minister in 1965 and was always the only prime minister for me. This was not the case for my peers born in the US. They first had President Johnson. Then came Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, James Carter, Ronald Reagan, the first George Bush and Bill Clinton. When Demirel first assumed office, Harold Wilson was the prime minister of the UK. After him, the office was taken by Edward Heath, James Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher, John Major and Tony Blair. In Turkey, however, Demirel was either prime minister or president for the thirty-five years between 1965 and 2000. So he is the first one to come to
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We are 16th now but used to be 15th
Fatih Özatay, PhD
22 May 2012
But what is the meaning of Turkey being the sixteenth largest economy for the man on the street? The answer is quite simple: it has no meaning at all. Sometimes – I hope this happens from time to time, really – I become really uncomprehending and linger on a single issue. I somehow fail to acknowledge that thing and move on. The latest example of this was the “issue” about the international rank of the Turkish economy.
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Turkish urbanization is the enemy of Turkish football
21 May 2012
There are two types of countries: Those where the police and football fans fight tooth and nail, and the other calm ones. Turkey and England are in the first group; both love football. There is a subcategory among these countries: those that have large green fields in their cities where children and young people can play football and those where the game is played only on artificial turfs by paunchy middle-aged men. Here, England is in the first group while Turkey is in the second.
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Why should the EU play a role in Turkey?
Güven Sak, PhD
19 May 2012
The EU would have a unique role in completing Turkey’s transformation process. The EU was once the major driving force of Turkey’s transformation process. That was a good blueprint for structural change. The EU was both an agent of change and our role model at the same time. Few people in Turkey still see it that way. One look at the Eurobarometer polls shows just how much the old continent has lost its allure. The image of the EU as a whole has been declining steadily in the eyes of Turks. Of course, the Europeans’ lack of confidence lately has not been helping.
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Unemployment figures give the same message as output figures
Fatih Özatay, PhD
17 May 2012
Neglecting small fluctuations, we can conclude that unemployment rate has been stable around 9 percent for the last four months. Unemployment figures announced on Tuesday are consistent with the “soft landing” scenario. Still, this does not necessarily mean that there will be soft landing as recent developments in Europe risk the reliability of this scenario.
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Syrian insurgency and fragmentation of political Islam
Nihat Ali Özcan, PhD
17 May 2012
Political Islamists have met the insurgencies in the Arab world with sympathy, because they thought it would give them a chance for political power. Certainly political Islamists in Turkey, who were bored with loneliness, were inclusive. But unpredictable outcomes of the “Arab Awakening” have started to emerge as it is in every major economic, social and political change. Especially the developments in Syria are leading to confusion on one hand and triggering fissions on the other hand. As a matter of fact, one can see this better if one follows the debates and newspapers of the Islamist groups in Turkey. Principally, the divisions being talked about provide significant clues regarding the Islamic movements and in which direction they might develop in the long run. One may colle
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Why has Turkey not been able to create a Hyundai?
Güven Sak, PhD
15 May 2012
We are designing incentive systems so that a few non-professionals can find jobs. They are designing incentive systems to create world champions. Another question left from my visit to Seoul was “Why has Turkey not been able to create a Hyundai?” Some of you might say, “We are fed up with your memories of the two-day Seoul trip!” And you are right. But what can I do? I was really impressed.
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Is it not as soft as expected?
Fatih Özatay, PhD
15 May 2012
The CBT will stick to the high-interest rate policy as long as the developments across Europe disturbs risk appetite. Now it’s almost the middle of the second quarter. The information at hand suggests that the Turkish economy has been growing at a significantly slower pace than in 2011, in line with the “soft-landing” scenario.
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Is the presidency a priority?
Güven Sak, PhD
12 May 2012
Turkey needs a debate on the structure of its executive branch: the sooner the better. With or without Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the discussion about the power of the presidency is among Turkey’s priorities. Let me tell you why.
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