Islam, conservatism, and democracy in Turkey: Comparing Turgut Özal and Recep Tayyip Erdoǧan

In the absence of politically influential aristocracy and the entrepreneurial middle classes, the political and economic transformations in the Republican Turkey have been the handiwork of the political elites. Thus, late Dankwart A. Rustow, prominent political scientist with a special interest on Turkish affairs, talked of the "cultural revolution of Atatürk," the "democratic revolution of İsmet İnönü," and the "economic revolution of Turgut Özal." The first two transformations were top-down revolutions and have not had a considerable impact on the social and economic stratification in the country. In contrast, with the Özal revolution a new entrepreneurial middle class began to flourish, and, in the Recep Tayyip Erdoǧan period, the peripheral social groups led by the entrepreneurial middle class in question have become influential players in the Turkish polity

Does secularism face a serious threat in Turkey?

[No abstract available

The European Union, the Turkish military and democracy

The military in Turkey has been both the subject and the object of modernization as Westernization. In the process it came to occupy a prominent place in the Turkish polity, acting as the guardian of the premises upon which the Turkish Republic was based. In the post-1960 period it took power into own hands several times. Yet, the military interventions in question were made to 'save the democracy from itself' and not for the purpose of setting up a long-term military rule. Over the years, the military became less enthusiastic about intervening in politics. In recent years, the military's extrication from politics altogether gained a new momentum as a consequence of Turkey's bid to become a full member of the EU. © 2005 Taylor & Francis Group Ltd

Is legal-rational bureaucracy a prerequisite for a rational-productive bureaucracy? The case of Turkey

The particular pattern the bureaucratic development in Turkey has evinced suggests that legal rationality is a prerequisite for the successful institutionalization of rational productivity. Whereas there is a zero-sum type of relationship between patrimonialism on one hand and legal rationality and rational productivity on the other, there is apositive-sum type of relationship between legal rationality and rational productivity

Civil-military relations in Israel and Turkey

This manuscript investigates to what extent civil-military relations in Israel and Turkey, two countries in the Middle East which have democratic systems of governments, evinces characteristics that one comes across in advanced democracies. It shows that in both countries the military plays a relatively influential role, that being more so in Turkey than in Israel. The manuscript concludes that in recent decades the perception of the military concerning the question of whether or not the country faced a grave threat and the civilian government's capability to successfully deal with such a threat, if there was one, played leading roles in shaping the civil-military relations in those two countries

Acute effects of isoinertial resistance application on sprint, vertical and horizontal jump performance

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate of the acute effects of isoinertial resistance application on sprint, vertical and horizontal jump performance. Material: Volunteered 32 male students were divided into randomized experimental group and control group. Before and after 4-repetition maximal back squat with (for experimental group) or without isoinertial resistance application (for control group), 30 m sprint, vertical squat and countermovement jump tests with both legs, dominant leg, and non-dominant leg, standing broad jump and standing broad countermovement jump tests with both legs were assessed. Wilcoxon t test for pre- and post-test differences within the group, and Mann Whitney U test for pre- and post-test differences between the groups were used. Results: There were no significant differences within the group and between the groups for 30m both legs sprint parameters except pre-test mean stride length between the groups (Z=-2.27; p<0.02). Control group had a significant difference between pre- and post-test dominant leg vertical force (Z=-2.07; p<0.05). There were significant group differences in pre-test non-dominant leg countermovement jump (Z=-2.13; p<0.05), pre- and post-test non-dominant leg stride length (Z=-1.99 and Z=-2.28; p˂0.05, respectively). Conclusions: As a result of the effect of acute isoinertial resistance application to stride length especially to non-dominant stride length it is concluded that long-term isoinertial resistance training can support sprint performance with tolerating stride length imbalance between dominant leg and non-dominant leg

Primary intracerebral malignant fibrous histiocytoma mimicking a meningioma

We describe herein a patient with primary intracerebral malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) to demonstrate this very rare central nervous system tumor. A 42-year-old male was admitted to our institute with the complaints of headache and speech impairment. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a tumor consistent with meningioma and we decided the surgery. The tumor was excised totally during the initial surgery. Histopathological examination revealed a mesenchymal tumor with an invasion of the adjacent brain and underlying dura mater. On the postoperative 4th month, the follow up MRI showed tumor recurrence at the same location and of similar size. Reoperation was performed and the tumor was again removed gross totally. However, the patient demonstrated a rapidly progressive course leading to death within the first year after the surgery. Two significant points of this case of primary central nervous system MFH are the rarity of its occurrence and its mimicking a meningioma