Turkey: Staying Secular Insha'Allah
Analysis18 Okt 2010

Turkey: Staying Secular Insha'Allah

Turkey's increased economic and political importance makes it a place which outsiders need to understand.

Since 2002, the nation has been governed by the AKP, a political party with Islamist roots. The AKP's time in power has coincided with improvements in Turkey's economic management, the rise of its international influence and a dramatic decline amongst its citizens of support for sharia law.

Outsiders tend to see Turkey as wrestling with a choice between Islamism and secularism. However the nation seems able to live with - even prosper under - the apparent contradiction of a government with Islamist origins and a secular constitution.

Edward Stourton attempts to unravel the complicated reality of Turkish politics and get beyond the usual Western obsession with whether Turkey's loyalties lie with the West or the Islamic world. He investigates the new elites that are shaping the country's future. Will they help Turkey fulfil its dream of becoming a global power and the West's dream of a model Muslim democracy?

The featured contributors in the programme are:

Firdevs Robinson, an editor and Turkey specialist at the BBC World Service

Ziya Meral, a Turkish academic at Cambridge University

Ceren Coskun, a British-Turkish academic at the London School of Economics

Professor Henri Barkey from the Canegie Endowment for International Peace

Dr Soner Cagaptay from the Washington Institute for Near East Policy

Professor Binnaz Toprak, a social scientist at BoğaziÃi University in Istabul

Producer: Helen Grady.

Avsnitt(389)

Silicon Valley Values

Silicon Valley Values

David Baker explores the identity and values of Silicon Valley - and what they mean for the rest of us. He talks to entrepreneurs, investors, academics and activists about how those values are permeat...

6 Juni 201628min

Protectionism in the USA

Protectionism in the USA

Edward Stourton examines America's long history of resistance to free trade, and asks why it has again become such a potent political force. Donald Trump's most consistent policy has been opposition t...

30 Maj 201628min

Beyond Binary

Beyond Binary

In communities around the globe, genderqueer, gender-variant and gender-fluid people are rejecting the categories of male and female, and attempting to re-define gender identity. Linda Pressly asks if...

23 Maj 201628min

Free Speech 1 - Oxygen of Freedom

Free Speech 1 - Oxygen of Freedom

Timothy Garton Ash introduces the subject of freedom of speech and why it is more important than ever in today's internet-connected world. Professor Garton Ash sets out the arguments for why we need f...

21 Apr 201614min

Free Speech 2 - I'm Offended

Free Speech 2 - I'm Offended

Timothy Garton Ash examines how free speech is being eroded in the place it should be most secure: in universities. He examines the activist practise known as 'no platforming'. It means that one group...

21 Apr 201614min

Free Speech 3 - Respect Me, Respect My Religion

Free Speech 3 - Respect Me, Respect My Religion

Timothy Garton Ash asks if religion is a special case where freedom of speech should be curtailed. He asks how we can reconcile belief in an absolute revealed truth with the post-Enlightenment freedom...

21 Apr 201614min

Free Speech 4 - Media We Need

Free Speech 4 - Media We Need

Timothy Garton Ash asks whether we have the media we need to really exercise our right to freedom of expression? He examines the diversity of voices across the media landscape and wonders whether th...

21 Apr 201614min

Free Speech 5 - Big Brother is Watching

Free Speech 5 - Big Brother is Watching

It is often said that our right to free speech is balanced by our right to privacy. Timothy Garton Ash asks how we should strike the right balance between the two. In a world where we are sharing more...

21 Apr 201614min

Populärt inom Politik & nyheter

aftonbladet-krim
motiv
p3-krim
rss-krimstad
fordomspodden
rss-viva-fotboll
flashback-forever
svenska-fall
rss-sanning-konsekvens
aftonbladet-daily
svd-dokumentara-berattelser-2
spar
rss-krimreportrarna
rss-vad-fan-hande
rss-frandfors-horna
krimmagasinet
olyckan-inifran
rss-aftonbladet-krim
dagens-eko
grans