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Individual presentation about the country of Turkey for the class of Politics of the Middle East (POLS 4314). Content: History of the Anatolian Region from the Persians to the Ottomans, Ataturk and the Turkish Modern Nationalism, Turkish government structure, ethnical and religious composition, GDP structure, unemployment, socio-cultural conflict with the Kurds, etc.
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TURKEY
Domestic Politics
By Francisco Garrido-Garza
Flag
The colors and design closely resemble the banner of the Ottoman Empire (1299-1918), which preceded modern-day Turkey.
According to legend, the flag represents the reflection of the moon and a star in a pool of blood of Turkish warriors.
The crescent moon and star serve as insignia for the Turks, as well as being traditional symbols of Islam.
Location & Geography
• Slightly larger than Texas.
• High central plateau, narrow coastal plains & several mountain ranges in the East.
• Strategic location: Bosporus Strait & Sea of Marmara linking with the Black and
Aegean Seas. Its location between two continents (Europe and Asia) makes it a
place of significant geostrategic importance as it has always been historically.
Location & Geography
• Anatolia & Asia Minor are other terms to describe the region.
• Western border: Greece & Bulgaria (Europe).
• Eastern border: Syria, Iraq, Iran, Armenia & Georgia.
• Turkey shares the Black Sea with Romania, Ukraine & Russia besides the bordering
countries of Bulgaria and Georgia.
HistoryFor more than a millennium, hegemonic empires contested and ruled the Anatolian
Region because of its favorable geographic conditions and for its direct trade routes
linking East with West (Silk Road Routes).
• Persian Empire (546 – 334 BC)
• Alexander the Great (323 – 146 BC)
• Roman Empire (100 BC – 330)
• Byzantine Empire (330 – 1453)
• Ottoman Empire (1299 – 1918)
• Republic (1923 – )
Turkey’s Background & Development
TURKEYGREECE
BULGARIA
ROMANIA
UKRAINE
RUSSIA
GEORGIA
SYRIA
IRAQIRAN
SAUDI ARABIAEGYPT
JORDAN
ISRAEL
LEBANON
PALESTINE
CYPRUS
SUDAN
LIBYA
CHAD
AZERBAIJAN
ARMENIAMOLDAVIA
KAZAKHSTAN
QATAR
BAHRAIN
U.A.E
OMAN
YEMEN
ETHIOPIA
ERITREA
HUNGARY
UZBEKISTAN
TURKMENISTAN
MAC.ALB.
Historically, Turkey has always been
a place of significant geostrategic
importance because of its location
in the middle of two continents
and two seas.
Persian Empire
Persepolis
The Persians in Anatolia built the first
trade roads and ports, and linked
them with the rest of the Empire
(Middle East).
Around 490 BC, the Greeks from the
neighboring West, went to war
against them.
A century later, the Greeks pushed
the Persians out of Anatolia.
Sardis
Susa
Ecbatana
Cappadocia
Capital
City founded
Persian Empire
(678 – 330 BC)
Hellenistic World
Athens
The Greeks, under the rule of
Alexander the Great, extended the
roads and trade routes that the
Persians built previously.
After Alexander’s death, the empire
broke apart into independent Greek
kingdoms.
International trade between East and
West emerged (Silk Road routes).
Byzantium
Alexandria
AntiochDamascus
Aleppo
Seleucia
HierapolisPergamum
Capital
City founded
Hellenistic World (Greeks)
Ephesus
(323 – 146 BC)
Roman/Early Byzantine Empire
Constantinople
Ctesiphon
In 330, Roman Emperor Constantine
transferred the imperial seat to
Byzantium and changes its name:
Constantinople.
He legalized Christianity and became
the first Christian emperor.
In the mid-400s, the Western Roman
Empire fell. The Eastern part
prevailed and re-emerged as the
Byzantine Empire.
Caesarea
Nicaea
Capital
City founded
Edessa
Adrianople
Sasanid Empire (Persian)
Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine)
(100 BC – 330 AC)
Byzantine Empire
Constantinople
Damascus
Baghdad
Cairo
Medina
Mecca
Capital
City founded Muslim Empire (Umayyad/Abbasid )
Byzantine Empire
(330 – 1453)In fact, the Byzantine Empire was the
continuation and heir of Rome but it
was totally a Christian-authoritarian
state and mostly Greek in language.
Since the emergence of Islam,
Byzantine lands were gradually
falling to the Umayyad Empire as
long as Muslim authorities were
more flexible and bold with
Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians, etc.
Late Byzantine Empire & Turks
Constantinople
Cairo
Capital
City founded Turks
Byzantine Empire
Mamluk Empire
Kerman
RumManzigert
Osmanli
(1057 – 1453)The Turks, who were in their
beginnings nomadic tribesmen from
the steppes of Central Asia,
converted to Islam between the
eight and ninth centuries as well as
adapting to the Abbasid Caliphate.
When the Abbasid Empire fell in
1258, the Turks declared themselves
as an independent state and
establish their own sultanate in
Eastern Anatolia.
Ottoman Empire
Istanbul
Capital
City founded Austrian-Hungarian Emp.
Ottoman Empire Safavid Emp.
Russian Emp.
Isfahan
Tehran
Bursa
(1299 – 1918)In 1453, the Turks, under the rule of
the Ottoman Dynasty, removed the
Byzantine Empire and established
their new capital at Constantinople
(Istanbul).
Since the early 1500s, the Ottoman
Empire made Islamdom to be the
greatest power bloc in the world by
controlling over 80 percent of the
Mediterranean trade with the east.
Late Ottoman Empire
Istanbul
Europe took the alternative to search
for new routes to the East due to the
Ottoman blockade.
Despite the success of the Ottoman
expansion through the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries, problems in
government and social organization
occurred frequently.
The Ottoman Empire was being
weakened by itself and because of
the European infiltration.Capital
City founded Austrian-Hungarian Emp.
Ottoman Empire Russian Emp.
British-French
Sevastopol
Taganrog
(1800s – 1918)
Republic of Turkey
Ankara
The Ottoman Empire lost its holdings
at the Balkans in WWI.
The Sultan and the imperial system
were not powerful anymore.
The Republic of Turkey, as it is known
today and recognized by the World,
was established in 1923 by Turkish
nationalists and radical reformers.
The modern city of Ankara became
the capital.Capital
Republic of Turkey
(1923 – )
Ataturk & The RepublicMustafa Kemal Ataturk, along with radical-nationalist reformers, removed the
Sultanate. They incorporated western ideas and secular practices to the new
Republic. Ataturk became the first president of Turkey in 1924 after he
overthrew the Ottoman Sultan. In the same year, the new republic promulgated
its first constitution based on democracy and secular pluralism.
Population: 79, 749, 461 (est. 2012).
Demography & Population
Demography & Population
Istanbul Ankara Izmir Bursa Adana Gaziantep Konya0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16Turkey’s Largest Cities
Popu
latio
n (m
illio
ns)
Source: Turkish Statistical Institute
Demography & Population
Istanbul Ankara
BursaIzmir
Age Distribution
Source: The World Factbook – CIA
0-14 15-24 25-54 55-64 65 and older0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
MaleFemale
Age
Popu
latio
n (m
illio
ns)
Total Population: 79,749,461
Religions
Muslim* 98%
Christian, Jew & other re-ligions
2%
* Mostly Sunni
Source: The World Factbook – CIA
Total Population: 79,749,461
Turks70%
Kurds18%
Greeks, Russians, Georgians & Others
12%
Ethnic Groups
Source: The World Factbook – CIA
Total Population: 79,749,461
The Kurdish ProblemKurdistan:
- A nation without a state.
- Ethnical region situated in the adjacent parts
of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran.
- 4th largest ethnicity in Western Asia after the
Arabs, Persians and Turks.
- 25% live in Turkey.
- Actually, there are political parties (banned)
and activist groups representing the
struggles and interests of the Kurdish
minority (e.g. People’s Labor Party).
Country Name: Republic of Turkey
Type of Government: Republican &Parliamentary Democracy
National Holiday: Republic Day (October 29)
Legal System: similarly based on the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
Suffrage: Universal (18 years of age).
Government & Tradition
Government Structure
• Constitution:Laws & amendments based on the Principles of Kemalism (Modern Turkish Nationalism), Laicism (secularism) & Modernization.
• Executive Branch:President, Prime Minister & Council of Ministers.
• Legislative Branch:Grand National Assembly (unicameral chamber of representatives).
• Judicial Branch:Constitutional Court, High Court of Appeals (Yargitay), Council of State
(Danistay), Court of Accounts (Sayistay), Military High Court of Appeals & Military High Administrative Court.
Executive BranchThe executive power is exercised by the President and Prime Minister along with the Council of Ministers (presidential staff).
• President:- Head of state.- Elected every 5 years on the principle of universal suffrage and is eligible for a second term. - Does not have to be member of the Parliament.- Must be over 40 years old and have, at least, a Bachelor’s degree.
• Prime Minister: - Head of government.- Appointed by the President and must be approved by the Parliament through a vote of confidence.- Nominates members for the Council of Ministers before the President’s approval.
Executive Branch
Abdullah Gül Recep Tayyip ErdoganPresident Prime Minister
Legislative BranchLegislative power is invested in the 550-seat Grand National Assembly of Turkey,
representing 81 provinces.
- To be represented in Parliament, a party must win at least 10% of the national
vote in a national parliamentary election.
- Members are elected only for a four-year term.
- Independent candidates can run and be elected only if they win over 10% of the
vote in the province from which they are running.
Legislative Branch
Judicial BranchTurkish courts have no jury system; judges render decisions after establishing the facts in each case based on evidence presented by lawyers and prosecutors.
- All courts are open to the public, but in case it is closed, the court must declare the reason.
- The Minister of Justice is the natural head of the judicial council.
- The Military Court of Cassation (Askeri Yargıtay) and The Military High Court of Administration (or the Supreme Military Administrative Court) are the highest bodies to which appeals of decisions of military courts are to be made.
- Turkey accepts the European Court of Human Rights' decisions as a higher court decision. Turkey also accepts as legally binding any decisions on international agreements.
Political Parties• Since 1945, Turkey has functioned under a multi-party system allowing a wide
array of political groups to represent the population.
• There are approximately 61 political parties (registered and banned).
• Political parties that received more than 10% of the suffrage, and/or
represented in the Parliament, are defined as Major parties.
• Currently, 5 major parties have seats in the Parliament.
Main/Major Political Parties
People’s Republic PartyModern-Turkish Nationalist
(Center-left)
Democratic PartyEconomic Liberalism
(Center-right)
National Movement PartyConservative/Nationalist
(Far-right)
Motherland PartyEconomic Liberalism
(Center-right)
Democratic Left PartyModern-Turkish Nationalist
(Center-left)
Justice & Development Party
Social Conservatism(Center-left)
Peace & Democracy PartySocial Democracy
(Center-left)
Young PartyRight-wing Populism
(center-right)
Most influential and often represented in Parliament
Minor Political Parties
Radical/Left Wing: 14 registered (social democracy, socialist, Marxist…)
Conservative/Nationalist: 11 registered (nationalist, Islamist…)
Liberal: 4 registered (economic liberalism, neoliberal, moderate, progressive…)
Green: 2 registered (green politics, sustainability…)
Banned parties (interest groups): 10 (Kurdish separatist, Muslim extremists, workers’
pact…)
Poorly represented in Parliament and/or form coalition with a major party
Agriculture:
Tobacco, Cotton, Grain, Olives, Sugar Beets,
Hazelnuts, Citrus & Livestock.
Industry:
Textiles, Food Processing, Autos, Electronics,
Mining, Steel, Construction, Lumber & Paper.
Energy:
Petroleum, Coal, Natural Gas, Solar & Wind.
Economy
Economy
GDP: $ 783.1 billion.
Poverty rate: 16.9 %
Unemployment rate: 9 %
Agriculture25%
Industry26%
Services48%
Labor Force by Occupation
Source: The World Factbook – CIA
Labor force: 27.11 million
Agriculture9%
Industry28%
Services63%
GDP Composition
Source: The World Factbook – CIA
GDP: $ 783.1 billion
Conclusion
Turkey is both European and Middle Eastern because of its cultural
contrast and historical backgrounds. As a result of its location between the Black
and Mediterranean seas, and by managing multiple diplomatic relations with both
European and Middle Eastern neighbors, Turkey gained its recognition as a
regional power. Comparing to many Middle Eastern countries, Turkey
demonstrates to be a modern country with a stable economy and vast pluralism in
politics. But on the other hand, the country still faces geopolitical and socio-
cultural challenges in and beyond of its territory as with the Kurds.
THANK YOU
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