Week 11

Select a reading of interest for the week and respond to it in 1-2 paragraphs.  What made it seem important, controversial, or interesting to you?

3 thoughts on “Week 11

  1. Kennedy Mugo

    Hakan Yavuz article on Turkey was especially interesting. He points out that Kemalism—western oriented Turkish nationalism—has brought the country to a precarious position in a certain number of ways: One, the eroding of the rights of the Kurds and other groups; two, a state guided economy which has made Turkey be left out of the Economic union; three, semi-authoritarianism caused by the constant military coups justified by the idea that the state “strays” from the real Kemalism. This has lead to a deadlock for the country “preventing Turkey from forming a social contract and achieving full democracy.”

  2. Nejla Calvo

    I remember that during the first class discussion one group said that they think it would be important to observe the role of Turkish foreign policy in current ME affairs (following the Arab Spring). Actually, it was Jakob from section x. Nonetheless, I found it interesting to read about the changing role of Turkish foreign policy in Barkey’s article on Turkey’s elections. He notes that Erdogan had no choice but to condemn former ally Bashar Assad. Erdogan also taken on a leadership role in MENA and in his election speech he promised that the AKP government would redouble its diplomatic efforts in the region. Yet, Turkey is not necessarily the best model for democracy considering its huge Kurdish problem, which is at the root of numerous human rights abuses. Yavuz stresses the Turk-Kurd divide as one of the main social fault lines in Turkish society. This is a major aspect that is holding Turkey back from democratic consolidation.
    The rights of Kurds in Turkey are overshadowed by a state ideology of homogeneity, which has it roots in Kemalism. The Kemalist policy of creating a homogenous Turkish nation has led the military to adapt an exclusive Turkish ethnocentricity. The militarization of political life undermines democracy. I agree with Yavuz that “stability in Turkey depends on full recognition of the cultural rights of the Kurds within a democracy centered on the rule of law (Yavuz 37).” Erdogan has his work cut out for him in the process of rewriting the constitution and reconciling Kurdish grievances. I believe that the best way to resolve the Kurdish issue is to further democratize Turkey by changing the constitution’s emphasis on Turkish ethnicity and removing the prohibitions on cultural and political rights.

  3. Matthew Yaggy

    Marina Ottaway’s article on the new Moroccan constitution was interesting to me because of the vague descriptions of the king’s domain of authority in politics. For example, the king has the right to determine all strategic major policy choices. However, the constitution never defines what a strategic major policy choice is, effectively giving the king an enormous amount of wiggle room in terms of his political actions. I suppose that this is not too surprising considering the unorganized nature of the opposition to the current monarchy in Morocco. With so many voices in the opposition vying for dominance it becomes quite easy for the ruling powers to push through unpopular reforms without encountering a powerful opposition. I also thought the unorganized nature of the protests was interesting considering their similarity to the occupy wall street movement in the United States and the tent protests in Israel; A lot of young people, with a broad list of grievances, but no real unified agenda or organization.

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