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Turkey

Turkey's military-industrial complex

MILITARISM: Technonationalism has strengthened Turkey's proactive foreign policy, promoted national pride and reinforced the image of a powerful state. The paradigm of "zero problems with the neighbours", which characterized Turkish foreign policy in the 2000s, has been abandoned in favor of a more interventionist approach under the doctrine of "security at any cost". In 2002, the total volume of defense industry projects was a modest $5,5 billion – By 2023, it rose to over $96 billion.

Pragmatism and repressive politics

TURKEY: Last autumn, MODERN TIMES met two intellectuals in Istanbul regarding today's Turkey – and attended a major conference there on political economy. We look here at the use of force, at freedom of expression, the media, militarization and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's political pragmatism.

The good smugglers

MIGRATION: MODERN TIMES prints here an extract from Kristina Quintano's new book Smugglers or illegal immigrants?

Principles in the UN Charter of effective multilateralism and equal cooperation

UNITED NATIONS: MODERN TIMES prints here Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's speech to the UN Security Council in New York on 20 September 2023. He emphasizes that the UN Charter is the cornerstone of today's international legislation – which has not been followed in terms of peace and security in Ukraine. Lavrov also points out that the Ukrainian constitution states that the state is obliged to respect the Russians and other ethnic minorities. In Lavrov's view, it is the Western countries that do not want to overcome the deep crisis that has arisen in international relations. Here you have the opportunity (and with ORIENTERING's several articles) to read and evaluate yourself.

Deterrence and reassurance?

MILITARISM: The Norwegian base declaration of 5 March 1949 was a first condition for Norwegian accession to NATO. Norway must deny the United States the base of armed forces on Norwegian territory in peacetime – The Storting must now reject the "supplementary agreement".

The military-industrial complex

MODERN TIMES CONVERSATIONS: From someone who should know the intricacies of foreign policy and geopolitics: Thorbjørn Jagland on military rearmament and enemy images – when it comes to the USA, Russia, China, Turkey and Libya.

Being threatened with death can make most people keep a low profile

FREEDOM OF SPEECH: The opportunity to say something is always very limited, says MODERN TIMES's regular writer in this essay about different authorities' use of force. Away from today's mass media, an "underground" network of intellectuals has now emerged, including experienced journalists, intelligence officers, renowned professors and politicians.

The art of not being a terrorist

ESSAY: The ceiling height has suddenly become dangerously low – it is taboo to talk about terror.

National sentiment becomes shop

GALLIPOLI: The commemorative markings of the Battle of Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I provide the basis for both nationalism and business.

Before you know it, you're a terrorist

TERRORIST LIST: An otherwise uneventful late summer day I received a message in my inbox that I was listed on a Turkish list of alleged terrorists.

Underground rock in Kabul

AFGHANIC METAL: The story of the emergence of the first Afghan metal band – and the subsequent fall under the weight of an ultra-conservative society.

Blue light for human rights

TURKEY: The Erdogan Government reaches a new human rights low target with the lifetime sentence requirement for 16 prominent civilian leadership figures.

Dreams and daily life in the countryside

TURKISH FILM: Nuri Bilge Ceylan follows up Cannes winner Winter Sleep with a new drama about credible characters in everyday situations – without the result being trivial.

The legacy of Atatürk

The man who founded Turkey as a modern state in 1923 did so on authoritarian grounds. Thus, Erdogan and Atatürk are just two cubits out of one piece, claims Halil Karaveli.

Sparkling new talents in Edinburgh

The Edinburgh International Film Festival introduces fresh talent and new voices during this year's festival, while reflecting the cultural diversity Edinburgh has to offer. 

Women raise their voice in Turkey 

The international women's film festival Filmmor in Turkey may be seen as a drop in a male-dominated sea, but it is part of a feminist stream that is growing in strength and scope.