Turkey's military operations in Syria and Iraq

In the early hours of 18 April, Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) launched a military opera­tion inside Northern Iraq dubbed Claw-Lock. Simultaneously, Turkey intensified its military activities in Syria. Furthermore, on 23 May, President Tayyip Erdoğan an­nounced that Turkey will soon start a new military operation in Syria. These moves reflect Turkey's new military strategy, based on area control, against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). So far, this new approach has yielded military success. How­ever, it is precisely military success that is reinforcing the tendency to deal with the Kurdish problem only in terms of security and military solutions and to rule out any long-term political solution to the problem. Europe should continue to support efforts towards seeking a solution that also addresses the political dimensions of the problem. (author's abstract

New political parties and the reconfiguration of Turkey's political landscape

The recent emergence of two splinter parties from the Justice and Development Party (AKP) points to a deepening crisis within the party and growing discontent toward party leader and president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Although the leaders of the two new parties, Ali Babacan and Ahmet Davutoğlu, are both former high-ranking AKP politicians, they differ significantly in their style of politics and ideological leanings. Babacan is trying to position himself at the center of Turkey's ideological spectrum and emphasize issues of good governance and the rule of law. Davutoğlu is aiming for the more conservative voters, focusing on the moral shortcomings of the current regime. Davutoğlu's strategy has better chances in the short term, whereas Babacan is poised for a long game. The importance of both parties relies on their potential to attract votes from the AKP base. In a country that is deeply divided into two almost equal-sized camps that support Erdoğan and oppose him, even a small fraction of votes shifting from the AKP to the opposition can be a game changer. (Autorenreferat

Turkish and Iranian involvement in Iraq and Syria: competing strategies, rising threat perceptions, and potentials for conflict

It has become cliché to argue that Turkish-Iranian relations oscillate between a con­trolled rivalry and limited cooperation. However, in Iraq and Syria, rising tensions between Turkey and Turkey-affiliated groups on the one hand and Iran and Iran-backed groups on the other, have put the two countries on a collision course. Con­flictual relations between Turkey and Iran have the potential to destabilise the Middle East and the South Caucasus, spawning additional security risks as well as waves of migration towards Europe. Such a situation could also complicate matters related to European energy security. Europe should remain alert and help to ease tensions through de-escalation mechanisms. In this regard, efforts to strengthen Iraqi sover­eignty may serve as a pre-emptive measure. (author's abstract

Political and economic implications of the Turkish earthquakes: centralisation of power has eroded state capacity

On 6 February 2023, Turkey was hit by one of the worst earthquakes in its history. Buildings were destroyed and damaged across the southern and eastern provinces. The official death toll is already over 50,000, and it is conceivable that the real num­bers will be much higher. The earthquake also exposed the scale of political and institutional deterioration in Turkey. During Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's two decades in power, Turkey has experienced an enormous construction boom, evolved into an impor­tant player in humanitarian aid, and become an increasingly important region­al military actor. However, the earthquake revealed that the highly centralised and personalised system of power had weakened state institutions and undermined their capacity to deliver. Turkey needs to reform its disaster management and gov­ern­ance. The European Union should assist the recovery and reconstruction efforts by target­ing aid and using the momentum to mitigate anti-Westernism. (author's abstract

Subverting the secular-religious dichotomy: religious exclusion and nation-building in Turkey and Pakistan

Ankara : Department ofPolitical science and Public Administration İhsan Doğramacı Bilkent University, 2015.Thesis (Ph. D.) -- Bilkent University, 2015.Includes bibliographical references leaves 302-323.This study investigates the role of religion in nation building processes of Turkey and Pakistan. Current literature on these two countries is divided between those who claim that Islam was an essential arm of nation-building and those who claim that the role of Islam, if there was any, was merely instrumental and strategic. In that it reflects the divide in the wider literature on nationalism; between those who consider nationalism as a modern and secular(izing) phenomenon and those who underline the importance of pre-modern identities in general and religion in particular in the nation formation.This thesis aims to go beyond this dichotomy by pointing that religion in any nation-building plays a much more complex role. It can be crucial for nation-building at a certain stage, but it may be useless, irrelevant or even an impediment at another stage of nation-building. This dissertation argues that since nation-building is a process of homogenization, the role of religion can be best analyzed through its contribution to this process at the national level. Assimilation and exclusion are two means of homogenization and religion often contributes to national homogenization by excluding members of different religious communities. This is particularly true for the multi-ethnic and multi-religious societies, with an imperial legacy. By understanding nation-building largely as a process of homogenization, this thesis builds on the legacy of Ernest Gellner and his works on nationalism. However, it aims to go beyond Gellner by bringing the role of religion to the process of homogenization. Another important aspect of this study is that homogenization is discussed in the context of the emergence of modern state and the transition from empire to nation-state.Çevik, SalimPh.D

Turkey's new cabinet: a wind of change in Turkish politics?

The inclusion of technocrats and bureaucrats in Turkey’s new cabinet has led to cautious optimism over a possible change in direction. While President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s choice of economy minister hints at a reset, the thrust of foreign policy will remain unchanged. Here Ankara will pursue a moderate and diplomatic approach while still pursuing strategic autonomy. A great deal will depend on what Erdoğan wants and how he chooses to employ foreign relations to attract better financial and economic deals. Given Turkey’s importance as a security partner, especially in light of Russia’s war against Ukraine, the EU needs to develop a strategic approach on the basis of common interests and institutionalised relations. (author's abstract

Long-term radiological outcomes of short-segment stabilization in thoracic burst fracture

Introduction: Short-segment (SS) transpedicular instrumentation and distraction have been used as a popular method recently due to the kyphotic angulation and adequate spinal canal decompression provided by the fusion of fewer mobile vertebra segments. This study aims to demonstrate that adequate decompression of spinal canal and kyphosis angulation can be improved by SS instrumentation and distraction in thoracic vertebrae burst fracture. Methods: Patients who were admitted to our clinic for thoracic vertebra burst fractures between 2014 and 2017 and who underwent fusion with transpedicular screws were retrospectively analyzed. Results: Both the sagittal index (SI) and canal occupation rates (COR) showed statistically significant changes between the pre-operative and early post-operative periods (pSI=0.001, pCOR=0.001). Evaluation results of the patients at 2-year follow-up; mean SI was 16.2°±1.25° and the mean COR was 6.25±2.4%. There was no statistically significant difference between both SI and CORs postoperatively and after 2 years of follow-up (pSI=0.916, pCOR=0.565). Discussion and Conclusion: We believe that SS stabilization is sufficient especially in patients with COR <40%, SI <25°, American Spinal Injury Association score E, and preserved posterior elements of the vertebra

Thymoquinone ameliorates delayed cerebral injury and cerebral vasospasm secondary to experimental subarachnoid haemorrhage

Aim of the study. Among subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) patients, delayed cerebral injury (DCI) and infarction are the most important causes of death and major disability. Cerebral vasospasm (cVS) and DCI remain the major cause of death and disability. Thymoquinone (TQ) is the substance most responsible for the biological activity of nigella sativa (NS) and is useful in the treatment of ischaemic and neurodegenerative diseases, oxidative stress, inflammatory events, cardiovascular and neurological diseases. We conducted an experimental study aimed to investigate the preventive and corrective effects of TQ.Materials and methods. 24 Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into three groups. The first was the control group which was a sham surgery group. The second group was the SAH group where the double haemorrage SAH protocol was used to induce vasospasm. The third group was the SAH+TQ group, where cVS was induced by the SAH protocol and the animals received oral 2 cc thymoquinone solution for seven days at a dose of 10 mg/kg, after the induction of SAH. The rats were euthanised seven days after the first procedure. The degree of cerebral vasospasm was evaluated by measuring the basilar artery luminal area and arterial wall thickness. Apoptosis was measured by the western blot method at brainstem neural tissue. Oxidative stress was measured by the Erel Method. Endothelin-1 was measured with ELISA analysis at blood. Statistical analysis was performed.Results. Endothelin-1 values were found to be statistically significantly lower in the control and SAH+TQ groups compared to the SAH group (P &lt; 0.001). Mean lumen area values were significantly higher in the control and SAH+TQ groups than in the SAH group (P &lt; 0.001). In the control and SAH+TQ groups, wall thickness values decreased significantly compared to the SAH group (P &lt; 0.001). OSI values were significantly lower in the control and SAH+TQ groups than in the SAH group (P &lt; 0.001). Apoptosis was significantly lower in the control and SAH+TQ groups than in the SAH group (P &lt; 0.001).Conclusion. Our results show that post-SAH TQ inhibits/improves DCI and cVS with positive effects on oxidative stress, apoptosis, ET-1, lumen area, and vessel wall thickness, probably due to its anti-ischaemic, antispasmodic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-apoptotic and neuroprotective effects

New Turkey and Management of the Religious Realm: Continuities and Ruptures

This article analyses the relationship between religion and the state in the AKP era and discusses whether AKP policies represent a rupture with the republican era or a continuity. The AKP developed a multi-faceted and comprehensive policy for controlling the religious realm in Turkey. Employing the Diyanet as the true representative of Islam and forging alliances with cemaats have strong historical precedents, yet the amount of resources the AKP invested are significantly greater. Moreover, it is not only that AKP devoted more resources to the religious field (quantitative change), but also that it did this in novel ways (that amount to a qualitative change). First, these institutions are not being developed as alternatives to each other but as parts or layers of a more complementary strategy. Second, these various institutions and communities are merging with the AKP and losing their autonomy. By co-opting all these institutions and organisations, Erdoğan controls most of the religious realm in Turkey. If one of the unique dimensions of Turkish secularism is the state’s desire to maintain control over all religious activity, ironically, it is Erdoğan who has come closest to achieve this

The effectiveness of the amount of polymethylmethacrylate used in the treatment of lumbar osteoporotic compression fractures

Objective: We aimed to investigate the effectiveness of the amount of polymethylmethacrylate used in pain control and maintenance of long-term vertebra corpus height in patients undergoing percutaneous vertebroplasty due to osteoporotic compression fracture of the lumbar vertebra.Method: A total of 60 patients who underwent unilateral percutaneous vertebroplasty between 2014 and 2019 due to osteoporotic compression fracture of the lumbar vertebrae were included in the study. Patients who received 5 ml and 3 ml cement injection were retrospectively analyzed. Of patients, postoperative visual analogue scale (VAS) score and anterior vertebral height of the patients at 1st-year control were evaluated.Results: In the postoperative period, the mean visual analogue scale score was 2.3 +/- 0.46 in the 5 ml injected group and 2.2 +/- 0.4 in the 3 ml injected group (p5 ml=0.001, p3 ml=0.001). There was a statistically significant decline in pain control in both groups. The mean anterior vertebral height loss (AVHL) in the 5 ml injected group was 31.5 +/- 0.40%, and 32.6 +/- 0.47% in the 3 ml injected group (p5 ml=0.820, p3ml=0.870). There was no statistically significant alteration in both groups.Conclusion: Our results indicate that the 3 ml polymethylmethacrylate injection during the percutaneous vertebroplasty procedure provides adequate pain control and stabilization in patients with lumbar vertebral osteoporotic fracture. Therefore we think that small amount of polymethylmethacrylate (3 ml) is sufficient to avoid undesirable complications in this patient group