Deniz Sert

The Power of the Devout Bourgeoisie: The Case of the Justice and Development Party in Turkey

Historically, the closure of a party is a common phenomenon in Turkish politics. While the recent case against the governing Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi, AKP) was reminiscent of this trend, the decision of the Constitutional Court demonstrated that there are changes in the dynamics of the Turkish political structure. Although the literature cites the so-called ‘28 February Process’, the impact of EU accession, and the learning effects of democratization as explanations for the distinction of the AKP from its predecessors, this article argues that the AKP is different due to its extended business network and newly defined conservative base. The decision of the court in the recent closure case against the AKP reflects this structural political change within the foundation of Islamic parties in Turkey. While the court acknowledged the political legitimacy of the party by taking a decision against its closure, it has revealed the general discontent regarding AKPs non-adjusted conservative/pro-Islamic policies by cutting down its financial means.

The March 2009 Local Elections and the Inconsistent Democratic Transformation of the AKP Party in Turkey

The Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi (Justice and Development Party, or AKP) was established in 2001 by a group of former members of the Milli Gorus movement (National Outlook, or MG) as a conservative–democratic party. Known as the yenilikciler (those who seek novelty), a group of moderates seceded from the Islamist MG and proclaimed that they were establishing a ‘moderate and democratic’ party. This was an important turning point not only in the history of Turkish Islamism, but also in the trajectory of political Islam in Muslim societies. The AKP with its platform based on economic and political liberalism and social conservatism managed to garner a plurality of votes in its first general election in 2002. With 34 percent of the ballot and 366 of the total 550 seats in the parliament, the AKP came to power. Two years later, in 2004, the AKP participated in its first municipal elections and succeeded in increasing its share of the vote to 42 percent. In the second general elections in 2007, the party achieved a phenomenal political success by increasing its share of votes to 46.6 percent. In the following 20 months, however, Turkish political life experienced several crises, including the case asking the Constitutional Court to ban the AKP on grounds that it was not a genuine secular party as laws required political parties to be, debates over a new ‘civil’ constitution, a new court case against the ‘deep state,’ and many corruption allegations against the incumbent party. Consequently, in the municipal elections of March 2009, the AKP, for the first time in its short history, suffered a substantial loss in support, with its share of the vote declining to 39 percent.

Varying Transnational and Multicultural Activities in the Turkish–German Migration Context

This chapter presents results from our empirical study based on qualitative interviews conducted with Turkish–German migrants and their significant others in both countries. After introducing the historical background on migration in Turkey and Germany, we describe, by means of a typology, the great variety of transnational contacts, activities, and orientations with respect to different migrant categories, migrants’ life courses, and different areas of action. An important result of this study is that stronger state border-crossing activities and orientations usually are embedded in even stronger intercultural and incorporation-related practices toward the migrants’ respective resident states

Reversing Segregation? The Property Restitution Process in Post-war Bosnia

Following the breakup of former Yugoslavia, the war in Bosnia from 1992 to 1995 resulted in the displacement of large numbers of people in order to create ethnically pure territories. A decade after the Dayton Accords enshrined the right of displaced populations to return to their homes of origin, and most of the property repatriation claims made by the displaced had positive outcomes, it was assumed that property restitution would cause people physically to return home and eventually reverse the effects of wartime policies of ethnic cleansing. It is argued here that although property restitution is important as part of reversing ethnic segregation, the assumption that it will guarantee that the displaced will return to their former home is naïve.

Project-Tied Labor Migration from Turkey to the MENA Region: Past, Present, and Future

The geographic region of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) comprises one of the most fascinating immigration regions of the world, hosting millions of migrants and receiving thousands of new migrants each year. While the panorama of MENAs immigration arena is extremely diverse, this article aims to investigate project-tied, or contract-based, labor migration from Turkey, which occurs mostly through the long-established work of Turkish companies that engage in various construction and service-sector businesses. Taking the analytical context of migration system theory into consideration, the main aim of this essay is twofold: while it attempts to document the dynamics and mechanisms of contract-based labor migration from Turkey to the MENA countries, it also intends to elaborate on research about migratory systems between Turkey and the MENA region, mainly referring to macro-level factors affecting the relevant migration system.

A Debate Over Return Migration: The Case of Turkish Guest Workers in Germany

This chapter aims to provide an overview of the return migration of Turkish guest workers and their family members. While doing so, it also elaborates on the theoretical and conceptual discussions of the notion of return migration, and it discusses the empirical question of how return migration has evolved over time in the case of the guest-worker scheme between Turkey and Germany. There are several reasons that make it worthwhile to elaborate the case of Turkish guest workers in Europe in general (and in Germany in particular) in the context of the whole notion of return migration. First, it is a migratory system that has evolved from temporary migration to permanent settlement over the last five decades. Second, while this transformation has taken place, some migrants have returned home, but others have stayed abroad. Third, as this covers a period since the early 1960s, different generations are involved, including first-generation labor migrants as well as their Europe-born children, and even grandchildren. Finally, as this migration from Turkey includes various types of movements such as labor migration, family reunion, asylum seeking, and clandestine flows, return migration to Turkey also consequently consists of various types of returnees.

Current Characteristics of Migrant Transnationalism

Reflecting on the research findings, it can be said that the current nature of migrant transnationalism is the result of an interplay of various historical, political, economic, and cultural factors. For instance, the characteristics of migration between India and the UK are extensively related to the colonial history of the countries. Similarly, the most important reasons for the intensive movement of people between Morocco and France lie in the past French colonial presence in Morocco and in the long history of emigration to France. The Turkish–German case represents an established transnational connection in which economic migration has a vital role to play. Although the initial assumption was that Turkish “guest workers” would stay in Germany for only a limited period of time and then return to Turkey, this was not the case; many of them settled in Germany. Finally, the Estonian–Finnish space represents an emerging transnational space in which human movement was prevented by political factors for a long time. Although the Estonian–Finnish space is a fairly recent migratory passage, it has undergone remarkable transformation processes during the past few decades.

The Changing Waves of Migration from the Balkans to Turkey: A Historical Account

Ahmet Icduygu and Deniz Sert tell the history of migration from the Balkans to Turkey from the end of the nineteenth century to the present. They relate this history to nation-building, but also to economic conditions and specific Turkish concerns, such as the perceived need for immigration to compensate for a declining population at that time. They also demonstrate that after 1990, ethnic migration decreased and irregular labour migration became more important.

Reviews: Women in the Public Sphere: Christian Joppke, Veil: Mirror of Identity. Cambridge and Malden, MA: Polity, 2009, 176 pp., ISBN 9780745643519 (hbk), 51.80, 9780745643526 (pbk), 15.00

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