Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences · Political Science and International Relations (English) · Undergraduate
ECTS: 4 T+P+L: 3+0+0 Compulsory
Coordinator: Arş. Gör. Mehmet Tarık COPUR
Course Objective
The course introduces different perspectives offered about certain enduring issues in Turkish politics and critically evaluates them.
Course Content
The course examines enduring questions in Turkish politics such as state-religion relations, secularism, institutional design, democratization, nationalism and social justice.
Course Learning Outcomes
- Learning different perspectives about controversial issues in Turkish politics
Core Area Distribution
(22) Humanities%100
Teaching Methods
ExpressionQuestion-AnswerDiscussionGroup Study
Assessment & Evaluation
Performance Assignment ( Lab / Workshop / Field Work / Seminar / Presentation / Completion Study / ThesisTesting (Essay / Tests: True-Falls, multiple-choice, short answer, matching)
ECTS / Workload
| Activity | Quantity | Duration (h) | Total Workload |
|---|---|---|---|
| Course Duration (Including Exam Week) | 15 | 3 | 45 |
| Out of Class Study Period | 15 | 2 | 30 |
| Midterm | 1 | 3 | 3 |
| Quiz | 3 | 5 | 15 |
| Assignment | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Practice | 1 | 5 | 5 |
| Final | 1 | 3 | 3 |
Course Schedule
| Week | Subject | Preparation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction | |
| 2 | The Rise of the AKP | Akdoğan, Yalçın. 2006. “The Meaning of Conservative Democratic Political Identity.” In The Emergence of A New Turkey: Democracy and the AK Parti, ed. M. Hakan Yavuz. Salt Lake City: The University of Utah Press, 49–65. Baç, Meltem Müftüler. 2005. “Turkey’s Political Reforms and the Impact of the European Union.” South European Society & Politics 10(1): 17–31. Kuru, Ahmet T. 2006. “Reinterpretation of Secularism in Turkey: The Case of the Justice and Development Party.” In The Emergence of A New Turkey: Democracy and the AK Parti, ed. M. Hakan Yavuz. Salt Lake City: The University of Utah Press, 136–59. Heper, Metin. 2009. “Does Secularism Face a Serious Threat in Turkey?” Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East 29(3): 413–22. |
| 3 | AK Party and Democracy | Esen, Berk, and Sebnem Gumuscu. 2016. “Rising Competitive Authoritarianism in Turkey.” Third World Quarterly 37(9): 1581–1606. Çınar, Menderes. 2018. “From Moderation to De-Moderation: Democratic Backsliding of the AKP in Turkey.” In The Politics of Islamism: Diverging Visions and Trajectories, eds. John L. Esposito, Lily Zubaidah Rahim, and Naser Ghobadzadeh. Palgrave Macmillan, 127–57. Miş, Nebi, and Ali Aslan. 2014. Erdoğan’s Politics and His Presidential Mission. SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research. Göle, Nilüfer. 2013. “Gezi – Anatomy of a Public Square Movement.” Insight Turkey 15(3): 7–14. Yayla, Atilla. 2013. “Gezi Park Revolts: For or Against Democracy?” Insight Turkey 15(4): 7–18. |
| 4 | Kurdish Question | Yavuz, M. Hakan. 2001. “Five Stages of the Construction of Kurdish Nationalism in Turkey.” Nationalism and Ethnic Politics 7(3): 1–24. Yeğen, Mesut. 2011. “The Kurdish Question in Turkey Denial to Recognition.” In Nationalisms and Politics in Turkey: Political Islam, Kemalism and the Kurdish Issue, London ; New York: Routledge, 67–84. Gunter, Michael M. 2011. “Turgut Özal and the Kurdish Question.” In Nationalisms and Politics in Turkey: Political Islam, Kemalism and the Kurdish Issue, London ; New York: Routledge, 85–100. Kose, Talha. 2017. “Rise and Fall of the AK Party’s Kurdish Peace Initiatives.” Insight Turkey 19(2): 89–115. |
| 5 | Alevi Identity | Kose, Talha. 2013. “Between Nationalism, Modernism and Secularism: The Ambivalent Place of ‘Alevi Identities.’” Middle Eastern Studies 49(4): 590– Köse, Talha. 2010. “The AKP and the ‘Alevi Opening’: Understanding the Dynamics of the Rapprochement.” Insight Turkey 12(2): 143–64. Lord, Ceren. 2017. “Rethinking the Justice and Development Party’s ‘Alevi Openings.’” Turkish Studies 18(2): 278–96. Aktürk, Şener. 2018. “One Nation under Allah? Islamic Multiculturalism, Muslim Nationalism and Turkey’s Reforms for Kurds, Alevis, and Non-Muslims.” Turkish Studies 19(4): 523–51. |
| 6 | Civil Military Relations | Caliskan, Koray. 2017. “Explaining the End of Military Tutelary Regime and the July 15 Coup Attempt in Turkey.” Journal of Cultural Economy 10(1): 97–111. Kuru, Ahmet T. 2012. “The Rise and Fall of Military Tutelage in Turkey: Fears of Islamism, Kurdism, and Communism.” Insight Turkey 14(2): 37–57. Sarıgil, Zeki. 2011. “Civil-Military Relations Beyond Dichotomy: With Special Reference to Turkey.” Turkish Studies 12(2): 265–78. |
| 7 | Review | |
| 8 | Midterm | |
| 9 | Institutional design | Miş, Nebi, and Burhanettin Duran. 2016. “The Transformation of Turkey’s Political System and the Executive Presidency.” Insight Turkey 18(4): 11–27. Özbudun, Ergun. 2012. Presidentialism vs. Parliamentarism in Turkey. Istanbul Policy Center. |
| 10 | The Debate about Gülen Movement | Kuru, Zeynep Akbulut, and Ahmet T. Kuru. 2008. “Apolitical Interpretation of Islam: Said Nursi’s Faith-Based Activism in Comparison with Political Islamism and Sufism.” Islam and Christian–Muslim Relations 19(1): 99–111. Gözaydın, İştar B. 2009. “The Fethullah Gülen Movement and Politics in Turkey: A Chance for Democratization or a Trojan Horse?” Democratization 16(6): 1214–36. |
| 11 | Civil Society | Heper, Metin, and Senem Yıldırım. 2011. “Revisiting Civil Society in Turkey.” Southeast European and Black Sea Studies 11(1): 1–18. Ozel, Isik. 2013. “Is It None of Their Business? Business and Democratization, the Case of Turkey.” Democratization 20(6): 1081–1116. Doyle, Jessica Leigh. 2017. “State Control of Civil Society Organizations: The Case of Turkey.” Democratization 24(2): 244–64. Kaya, Raşit, and Barış Çakmur. 2010. “Politics and the Mass Media in Turkey.” Turkish Studies 11(4): 521–37. |
| 12 | Center-Periphery Debate | Bakiner, Onur. 2018. “A Key to Turkish Politics? The Center–Periphery Framework Revisited.” Turkish Studies 19(4): 503–22. Demiralp, Seda. 2012. “White Turks, Black Turks? Faultlines beyond Islamism versus Secularism.” Third World Quarterly 33(3): 511–24. Ramm, Christoph. 2016. “Beyond ‘Black Turks’ and ‘White Turks’ – The Turkish Elites’ Ongoing Mission to Civilize a Colourful Society.” Asiatische Studien - Études Asiatiques 70(4): 1355–1385. |
| 13 | Student Presentations | See syllabus |
| 14 | General Review | All Readings |
| 15 | Review | |
| 16 |