I argue today with the consensus view in Washington that things are going wonderfully in Ankara in "Turkey, Still a Western Ally?" Here are just a few of the articles out concurrent with mine that argue partially or entirely the opposite. (December 6, 2007)
The American Interest: With impressive skill, Mustafa Akyol makes the case in "Turkey's Veiled Democracy" that the AKP represents "Turkey's Muslim liberalism."
Foreign Affairs: Ömer Taşpinar makes the case in "The Old Turks' Revolt: When Radical Secularism Endangers Democracy" that the AKP's rise represents "the most promising democratic experiment in the Muslim world."
The Washington Quarterly: Joshua W. Walker presents the case in "Reexamining the U.S.-Turkish Alliance" that I respond to in my own article.
In contrast:
American Spectator: Ilan Berman of the American Foreign Policy Council mostly sees things as I do in his "The End of the Affair" but he comes to a diametrically opposite conclusion about the European Union. He blames the AKP's ascent in part on EU slowness to respond to the Turkish application and criticizes "protectionist EU politicians who have precious little idea about what to do with a majority Muslim member and even less desire to find out."
Middle East Media and Research Institute: R. Krespin, "Turkey-U.S. Relations At a Critical Juncture," sees things roughly as I do. Particularly noteworthy is the article's second sentence: "Turkey, an ally and partner of the U.S. for almost six decades, now sees the U.S. as the number one threat to its security and unity."
Survival: Rajan Menon and Enders Wimbush, "The US and Turkey: End of an Alliance," deals with a related topic, glancingly negative about the AKP.
Journal of Democracy: Zeyno Baran, "Turkey Divided," sees the AKP being made up of "patient Islamists" and considers the existential question facing Turkey to be "to what extent the secular democratic republic established by Atatürk's principles and vision will prevail."
Middle East Quarterly: E. Haldun Solmaztürk, "Turkish Secularism Is Not Undemocratic," argues against Taşpinar's Foreign Affairs article and suggests that Shari‘a guides Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan "as much if not more than secular law."
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