Comments on: Behind the blow-out at Davos http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/mesh/2009/02/behind-the-blow-out-at-davos/ National Security Studies Program :: Weatherhead Center Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:06:56 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5.2 hourly 1 By: Kemal Gürüz http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/mesh/2009/02/behind-the-blow-out-at-davos/comment-page-1/#comment-1751 Kemal Gürüz Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:09:54 +0000 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/mesh/?p=502#comment-1751 In the fall and winter of 2004, I made a presentation, both at Harvard and Cornell, entitled: "Two Years of an Islamist Government in Secular Turkey: A Critique from an Historical Perspective." (Click <a href="http://www.einaudi.cornell.edu/Europe/about/pdf/Guruz.pdf" rel="nofollow">here</a> to read it.) I do not want to claim prescience, but my worst fears are being confirmed by the recent turn events in Turkey, both domestically and from a foreign policy point of view. Turkey has been gradually moving away from being a secular Western country with a predominantly Muslim population, and is increasingly becoming more like an Islamic Middle Eastern country. For an eloquent description of the shift, I recommend this summary of recent remarks by Soner Çağaptay, <a href="http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC05.php?CID=3016" rel="nofollow">here</a>. <i><a href="http://www.suny.edu/sunyNews/News.cfm?filname=2004-12-01KemalGuruzBio.htm" rel="nofollow">Kemal Gürüz</a> is former president, Council of Higher Education of the Republic of Turkey (1995-2003), and a past fellow (2004-05) of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard.</i> In the fall and winter of 2004, I made a presentation, both at Harvard and Cornell, entitled: “Two Years of an Islamist Government in Secular Turkey: A Critique from an Historical Perspective.” (Click here to read it.) I do not want to claim prescience, but my worst fears are being confirmed by the recent turn events in Turkey, both domestically and from a foreign policy point of view. Turkey has been gradually moving away from being a secular Western country with a predominantly Muslim population, and is increasingly becoming more like an Islamic Middle Eastern country. For an eloquent description of the shift, I recommend this summary of recent remarks by Soner Çağaptay, here.

Kemal Gürüz is former president, Council of Higher Education of the Republic of Turkey (1995-2003), and a past fellow (2004-05) of the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard.

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