Democracy, Islam, and Secularism in Turkey

This book edited by Ahmet Kuru and Alfred Stepan provides an important contribution to the understanding of the nexus between democracy and democratization, religion and secularism in the context of Turkey, arguably the most stable Muslim-majority democracy in the greater Middle East. The volume features a select group of scholars and policy makers and is a product of two conferences held at Columbia University with the subsequent meetings and a thorough review and revision process. Among the contributors to the volume is Ergun Özbudun, the head of the academic commission for the new constitutional draft, whose chapters problematize the conflict between the pluralist nature of the Turkish society and monolithic state as well as the dynamics of the legal constitutional developments in the country. Prominent Ottomanists Karen Barkey and Şükrü Hanioğlu from Columbia and Princeton Universities, respectively, examine the origins of the state-sanctioned multiculturalism in the Ottoman lands and its applicability to the current milieu of the Turkish Republic as well as the origins of Kemalism. Ümit Cizre, a leading specialist on the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF), in her essay argues that TAF is currently switching its emphasis from the top-down to a bottom-up tactical approach in order to secure its role in the society. In other words, TAF applies its efforts on mobilizing the civil society of the urban secular stratum of the Turkish population, which have enjoyed a privileged modern lifestyle, rather than relying on state institutions. Joost Lagendijk, formerly a Dutch Green Left member of the European Parliament, head of the Delegation of the EU-Turkey Joint Parliamentary Committee and currently a columnist for a Turkish daily, examines the progress of the Turkish accession to the European Union and, especially, the benefits and challenges that this process has faced during the rule of the Justice and Development Party (AKP). Stathis Kalyvas, a prominent political scientist and expert on Christian Democratic parties claims that the process of political Islamists\u27 moderation in Turkey is not a unique experience. Rather, it is a continuation of a broader process of democratic inclusion of, and expansion toward, those factions of the society who initially oppose democratic ideals, which had started in Western Europe in the mid-1800s

Characteristics of heat exchange in the region of injection into a supersonic high-temperature flow

An experimental investigation of the local heat transfer coefficient distribution during gas injection into the supersonic-flow portion of a Laval nozzle is discussed. The controlling dimensionless parameters of the investigated process are presented in terms of a generalized relation for the maximum value of the heat transfer coefficient in the nozzle cross section behind the injection hole. Data on the heat transfer coefficient variation along the nozzle length as a function of gas injection rate are also presented, along with the heat transfer coefficient distribution over a cross section of the nozzle

Исследование перспектив реформаторского движения в мусульманском мире: условия и исходные основания

While the Muslim world has historically been no stranger to reform movements, it is currently seen as lacking dynamism associated with the reformist momentum. This question is especially critical in the wake of the “Arab Spring”, which relatively quickly died out or turned into violent contestation. In relation to this important problem, in this paper, I purport to critically assess the following questions: What are the conditions for the rise of reform movements in the Islamic world? In what specific geographies such movements are more likely to appear? Is the legacy of the jadidi reformists of the Volga-Urals region and Central Asia (in the second half of the 19th and first decades of the 20th centuries) still alive among the general populace in the region? The purpose of this paper is to provide contours for the study of these questions, consisting of both theoretical frames and initial statistical data. After offering an outline for what can be considered as conditions for the rise of reform movements, I analyze individual-level survey data from the 6th wave of World Values Survey. While in this study I do not claim to explain the rise or fall of existing or historical reform movements, my objective is to provide an exploratory and descriptive investigation for such potential in the Muslim-majority areas.Хотя мусульманскому миру исторически не были чужды реформаторские движения, в настоящее время ему не хватает динамизма, связанного с обновленческим импульсом. Этот вопрос особенно важен после «арабской весны», которая относительно быстро закончилась или перетекла в насильственное русло. В этой статье я намерен критически оценить следующие вопросы. Каковы условия возникновения реформаторских движений в исламском мире? В каких конкретных географических регионах такие движения более вероятны? Наследие реформаторов-джадидов Поволжско-Уральского региона и Центральной Азии (во второй половине XIX и в первых десятилетиях XX века) все еще живо среди широких слоев населения региона? Целью данной работы является очерчение контуров для изучения этих вопросов, состоящих как из теоретических рамок, так и из исходных статистических данных. Я предлагаю план того, что можно рассматривать в качестве условий для роста реформаторских движений, анализируя данные опросов на индивидуальном уровне из 6-й волны Обзора мировых ценностей. В этом исследовании я не претендую на то, чтобы объяснить рост или крах нынешних или исторических движений за реформы; моя цель состоит в том, чтобы провести предварительное и описательное исследование такого потенциала в районах с мусульманским большинством

Give peace a chance: the origins of territorial autonomy arrangements in multiethnic states

This research explains the formation of territorial autonomy regimes, arrangements enabling ethnic groups to express their distinct identity. The origins of territorial autonomy arrangements is an important topic due to the great potential of such institutions to prevent ethnic strife or reduce ongoing conflict. While the literature has explored the consequences of autonomy regimes, its contribution to our understanding of the origins of territorial autonomy is limited. In answering why territorial autonomy regimes are adopted, I develop a theory that focuses on the bargaining strategies of ethnic groups. Specifically, I posit that nonviolent bargaining strategies adopted by ethnic groups influence national leaders’ decision-making processes. In this dissertation, I also address the question of why ethnic groups employ peaceful, as opposed to violent, tactics. Hypotheses derived from this theorization are tested using 197 ethnic groups in 95 states. In the empirical analysis I use data from 1945 to 2000 and employ the duration model and the modified Heckman selection model as my primary statistical methods. To trace the process of territorial autonomy formation I use a case study conducted in the Republic of Tatarstan in the Russian Federation. The results suggest that while groups with access to easily extractable resources choose to employ violent strategies, ethnic collectivities who use peaceful protest tactics are in fact more successful in obtaining territorial autonomy arrangements from central governments

Application of Full-scale Experiments for Structural Study of High-rise Buildings

AbstractThe paper presents the application of full-scale-model experiments to develop software and design a device for determining the degree of reinforcement bar rusting in concrete elements of high-rise buildings. Operation of the designed device is based on the dependence of the electromagnetic field surrounding a ferromagnetic body on its geometrical parameters and reduction of electromagnetic properties of the ferromagnet by oxidation. To receive primary information about the electromagnetic field an original measuring device is used, which is a matrix of high-precision electromagnetic transducers. In order to determine their position in relation to the control object distance sensors are used. The measurement results are transmitted to a computer model that is adjusted so that the results of modeling the electromagnetic field at the locations of transducers agreed with the results of direct measurements. The required model parameters are the geometric dimensions of the reinforced bar.To raise the measuring device to the height of the building structure it is proposed to install it on a quadrotor

ISLAM, ISLAMISM, AND COLLECTIVE ACTION IN CENTRAL ASIA

To what extent does Islam help explain the dynamics of a participatory civil society in the post-Soviet Muslim-majority Central Asia? More specifically, to what extent does the variation in Islam (personal religiosity) and political Islam (support for Islam’s role in politics) help predict the propensity to engage in elite-challenging collective political actions, rooted in self-assertive social capital? Grounded in emancipative social capital theory, this article embarks on an individual-level quantitative analysis to systematically examine the variation in self-assertive collective action in four Central Asian republics. This study contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the empirical nexus between general religiosity (Islam), Islamism (Political Islam), and elite-challenging collective actions and offers new clues on the empirical interactions between resurgent Islam and collective political participation in the post-Communist Muslim world

Day Plots of Bacterial Magnetite from Sediments of Shira Lake (Khakassia, Russia)

The domain state of magnetite detected in sediments of Shira lake (Khakassia, Russia) was examined by means of magnetic hysteresis. Analysis of experimental data obtained on samples from different parts of bottom sediment cores in terms of Day plots allowed us to conclude that magnetite particles are in the pseudo-single-domain state. This indicates respectively small size of magnetite particles (< 100 nm) and reveals their bacterial origin. Biogenic magnetite buried in the bottom sediments can indicate the climatic changes in the Shira lake level in the Late Holocen