Turkey’s Political Crisis: Implications for the Middle East

The Project on Middle East Democracy presents:

Turkey’s Political Crisis: Implications for the Middle East

In Turkey, the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has become embroiled in a legal case that could see the party closed down and its leading figures, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President Abdullah Gül, banned from party politics for five years.  The party stands accused of undermining the secular nature of the Turkish state.  In what some are calling a “judicial coup d’état,” the legal case against the party is widely expected to succeed.  Such an outcome could have far-reaching consequences for Turkey’s fragile democracy, as well as for the Middle East as a whole.

How likely is it that the AKP will be shut down?  What might the domestic consequences be for Turkey to see its ruling party closed down and the country’s democratically elected leaders removed from office?  What impact could this have on the ongoing Israel-Syria negotiations facilitated by the AKP-led Turkish government?  What effects could it have both on U.S.-Turkish relations and on the credibility of American efforts to promote democracy in the Middle East?  And how has the United States reacted to the closure case, and what actions, if any, should the U.S. take?

Panelists:

Abdullah Akyuz, President of TUSIAD-US, the United States office of the Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association. He was previously the Executive Vice-Chairman of the Istanbul Stock Exchange.

Bulent Aliriza, Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and Director of CSIS’s Turkey project. He was previously a Senior Associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and also served as a diplomat in New York and Washington.

Omer Taspinar, Professor of National Security Strategy at the U.S. National War College and Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, where he directs Brookings’ Turkey Project. He is also the author of the 2005 book, Political Islam and Kurdish Nationalism in Turkey.

Moderated by Stephen McInerney, Director of Advocacy, Project on Middle East Democracy

Event Details:

Thursday, July 24 2008,  2:00 – 3:30 pm

Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2212

Click here to view a video recording of the event

Click here to view the flyer invitation

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