Wealth and Regime Formation: Social and Economic Origins of the Change Toward Democracy

This study explores the relationship between economic development, social mobility, elites, and regime formation. I argue that the genesis of regime formation, in general, and of democratic regimes, in particular, is determined by the type of economic structure a society possesses, on the one hand, and on the degree the to which demands from disfranchised groups do or do not pose a substantial threat to the interests of elites who occupy the upper strata of the social and economic status hierarchy. Second I demonstrate that the dynamics of transition to wider political participation, as the core element of a democratic system of governance, and the survival of such change are different. In what follows I illustrate that some factors that have been found to dampen the chances for wider participation or have been found to be unrelated to onset of a democratic system of governance have considerable impacts on the durability of the democratic regimes. In a nutshell, the analysis points to the positive effects of mineral wealth and income inequality on the prospects of a democratic survival. Using a cross-national time series data set for all countries for the period between 1960 and 1999 I put the hypotheses to the test. I use binary logit, ordered logit, and ordinary least squares (OLS) to delineate the link between socioeconomic changes and the transition to wider participation. Survival analyses are employed to test for what factors account for the durability of a democratic regime

Surgical management of childhood bronchiectasis due to infectious disease

AbstractBackgroundThe purpose of this study was to estimate operative risk and to identify indicators of adverse prognosis in patients undergoing resection for childhood bronchiectasis.MethodsFrom January 1985 to February 2001, patients undergoing resection for bronchiectasis were studied. The indications for operation were failure of medical therapy in 33 patients (94.2%) and hemoptysis in 2 (5.7%). The mean duration of symptoms was 4.2 years (range, 1-9 years). Surgical treatment included lobectomy in 17 patients (48.5%), pneumonectomy in 7 (20%), lobectomy plus segmentectomy in 5 (14.2%), bilobectomy in 2 (5.7%), and segmentectomy in 4 (11.4%).ResultsThe operative mortality rate was 2.8%, and the morbidity rate was 17.6%. The mean follow-up in 34 patients was 5.4 years (range, 1-12 years). Overall, 22 patients (64.7%) were asymptomatic after surgery. Clinical improvement was noticed in 8 patients (23.5%), and no improvement was noticed in 4 (11.7%). Complete resection resulted in a significantly better clinical outcome than incomplete resection (P < .05).ConclusionsSurgery for childhood bronchiectasis can be performed with low mortality and morbidity. Complete resection should be performed when possible

Religion and armed conflict: evidence from the Kurdish conflict in Turkey

This paper examines the effectiveness of religion as a solution to ethno-nationalist conflicts, drawing on the case of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan, PKK) in Turkey. We test for the purported peacemaking potential of religion building on an original dataset that contains data on Turkey’s state-sponsored mosques between 1980 and 2016. Results from this dataset, coupled with an alternative measure of the state’s involvement in religion – the number of religious schools (imam-hatip) per province – show that increased Islamization has no discernible impact on lowering support for ethno-nationalist Kurdish political parties or insurgency

Saudi Arabia in Transition

Saudi Arabia in Transition, a Great Decisions lecture by Mehmet Gurses, Ph.D., associate professor of political science at Floria Atlantic University

Anatomy of a Civil War

Anatomy of a Civil War demonstrates the destructive nature of war, ranging from the physical destruction, to a range of psycho-social problems, and to the detrimental effects on the environment. Despite such horrific aspects of war, evidence suggests that civil war is likely to generate multilayered outcomes. To examine the transformative aspects of civil war, Mehmet Gurses draws on an original survey conducted in Turkey, where a Kurdish armed group, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), has been waging an intermittent insurgency for Kurdish self-rule since 1984. Findings from a probability sample of 2,100 individuals randomly selected from three major Kurdish-populated provinces in the eastern part of Turkey, coupled with insights from face-to-face in-depth interviews with dozens of individuals affected by violence, provide evidence for the multifaceted nature of exposure to violence during civil war

Anatomy of a Civil War

Anatomy of a Civil War demonstrates the destructive nature of war, ranging from the physical destruction, to a range of psycho-social problems, and to the detrimental effects on the environment. Despite such horrific aspects of war, evidence suggests that civil war is likely to generate multilayered outcomes. To examine the transformative aspects of civil war, Mehmet Gurses draws on an original survey conducted in Turkey, where a Kurdish armed group, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), has been waging an intermittent insurgency for Kurdish self-rule since 1984. Findings from a probability sample of 2,100 individuals randomly selected from three major Kurdish-populated provinces in the eastern part of Turkey, coupled with insights from face-to-face in-depth interviews with dozens of individuals affected by violence, provide evidence for the multifaceted nature of exposure to violence during civil war

Anatomy of a Civil War

Anatomy of a Civil War demonstrates the destructive nature of war, ranging from the physical destruction, to a range of psycho-social problems, and to the detrimental effects on the environment. Despite such horrific aspects of war, evidence suggests that civil war is likely to generate multilayered outcomes. To examine the transformative aspects of civil war, Mehmet Gurses draws on an original survey conducted in Turkey, where a Kurdish armed group, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), has been waging an intermittent insurgency for Kurdish self-rule since 1984. Findings from a probability sample of 2,100 individuals randomly selected from three major Kurdish-populated provinces in the eastern part of Turkey, coupled with insights from face-to-face in-depth interviews with dozens of individuals affected by violence, provide evidence for the multifaceted nature of exposure to violence during civil war

Ethnic Exclusion And Mobilization: The Kurdish Conflict In Turkey

Why does ethnicity become politically salient and the basis of mobilization for some members of a disadvantaged group but not for others? This article suggests that members of a disadvantaged ethnic group are unlikely to support ethnic mobilization as long as they perceive the channels of personal mobility in the political system open. It builds upon an original dataset of biographical information of 2,952 governors, ministers, and judges in Turkey. The results show that support for Kurdish ethno-mobilization and recruitment into the Kurdish insurgency remain low in Kurdish localities with greater representation in the echelons of political power. This finding supports institutional approach to the study of ethnicity and demonstrates the importance of state recruitment patterns in shaping the political saliency of ethnic identity