The Turkish Presidential Elections of 10 August 2014

The Turkish presidential elections of 10 August 2014 were the first direct elections in the history of republican Turkey. The election of prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an in the first round illustrated his dominant position in Turkish politics, as well as the inability of opposition parties to provide an alternative candidate who appealed to the Turkish electorate. Growing social polarization and concern about emerging autocratic tendencies, corruption allegations and the multilevel crisis in the Middle East failed to dissuade Turkish voters. Nevertheless, the fulfilment of Erdo?an’s declared intention of introducing presidentialism in Turkey will depend on the result of the upcoming parliamentary elections, to be held in June 2015 at the latest.     

The strategic depth doctrine of Turkish foreign policy

Turkey's heavy involvement in Middle Eastern politics following the end of the Cold War eroded its Western image in the eyes of most Europeans and strengthened the hands of those who have traditionally argued against Turkey's EU membership by referring to the unbridgeable inherent differences between the parties in terms of cultural, historical, religious, and geographical considerations.     

Turkish racial theories

Mainstream media have reported on ‘China in Uncle Sam's Backyard’ - Latin America - with considerable alarm in recent years. But is such alarm justified? This article aspires to lift the fog on China's engagement with Latin America. The article finds that mutual concerns over economic development, not military advantage, are the driving force behind closer Sino-Latin American relations. Nonetheless, it is indisputable that China's presence in the Southern Hemisphere impacts the region's geopolitical dynamics, with possible consequences for the US security position. That said, China's arrival in Latin America also harbours a positive strategic opportunity for Washington to re-engage, on a more equal footing, with a continent whose relations with the US have been historically troubled, and more recently, have suffered from a certain neglect.