M. Hakan Yavuz – författare

This book presents a comprehensive overview of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the long-running dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Armenian-majority region of Azerbaijan. It outlines the historical development of the dispute, explores the political and social aspects of the conflict, examines the wars over the territory including the war of 2020 which resulted in a significant Azerbaijani victory, and discusses the international dimensions.

In November of 2002, the Justice and Development Party swept to victory in the Turkish parliamentary elections. Because of the party's Islamic roots, its electoral triumph has sparked a host of questions both in Turkey and in the West: Does the party harbor a secret Islamist agenda? Will the new government seek to overturn nearly a century of secularization stemming from Kemal Atatürk's early-twentieth-century reforms? Most fundamentally, is Islam compatible with democracy? In this penetrating work, M. Hakan Yavuz seeks to answer these questions, and to provide a comprehensive analysis of Islamic political identity in Turkey. He begins in the early twentieth century, when Kemal Atatürk led Turkey through a process of rapid secularization and crushed Islamic opposition to his authoritarian rule. Yavuz argues that, since Atatürk's death in 1938, however, Turkey has been gradually moving away from his militant secularism and experiencing "a quiet Muslim reformation." Islamic political identity is not homogeneous, says Yavuz, but can be modern and progressive as well as conservative and potentially authoritarian. While the West has traditionally seen Kemalism as an engine for reform against "reactionary" political Islam, in fact the Kemalist establishment has traditionally used the "Islamic threat" as an excuse to avoid democratization and thus hold on to power. Yavuz offers an account of the "soft coup" of 1997, in which the Kemalist military-bureaucratic establishment overthrew the democratically elected coalition government, which was led by the pro-Islamic Refah party. He argues that the soft coup plunged Turkey into a renewed legitimacy crisis which can only be resolved by the liberalization of the political system. The book ends with a discussion of the most recent election and its implications for Turkey and the Muslim world. Yavuz argues that Islamic social movements can be important agents for promoting a democratic and pluralistic society, and that the Turkish example holds long term promise for the rest of the Muslim world. Based on extensive fieldwork and interviews, this work offers a sophisticated new understanding of the role of political Islam in one of the world's most strategically important countries.

In November of 2002, the Justice and Development Party swept to victory in the Turkish parliamentary elections. Because of the party's Islamic roots, its electoral triumph has sparked a host of questions both in Turkey and in the West: Does the party harbor a secret Islamist agenda? Will the new government seek to overturn nearly a century of secularization stemming from Kemal Atatürk's early-twentieth-century reforms? Most fundamentally, is Islam compatible with democracy? In this penetrating work, M. Hakan Yavuz seeks to answer these questions, and to provide a comprehensive analysis of Islamic political identity in Turkey. He begins in the early twentieth century, when Kemal Atatürk led Turkey through a process of rapid secularization and crushed Islamic opposition to his authoritarian rule. Yavuz argues that since Atatürk's death in 1938, however, Turkey has been gradually moving away from his militant secularism and experiencing "a quiet Muslim reformation." Islamic political identity is not homogeneous, says Yavuz, but can be modern and progressive as well as conservative and potentially authoritarian. While the West has traditionally seen Kemalism as an engine for reform against "reactionary" political Islam, in fact the Kemalist establishment has traditionally used the "Islamic threat" as an excuse to avoid democratization and thus hold on to power. Yavuz offers an account of the "soft coup" of 1997, in which the Kemalist military-bureaucratic establishment overthrew the democratically elected coalition government, which was led by the pro-Islamic Refah party. He argues that the soft coup plunged Turkey into a renewed legitimacy crisis which can only be resolved by the liberalization of the political system. The book ends with a discussion of the most recent election and its implications for Turkey and the Muslim world. Yavuz argues that Islamic social movements can be important agents for promoting a democratic and pluralistic society, and that the Turkish example holds long term promise for the rest of the Muslim world. Based on extensive fieldwork and interviews, this work offers a sophisticated new understanding of the role of political Islam in one of the world's most strategically important countries.

Making a country great again is a theme for nationalist authoritarians. Across countries with past experience as great powers, nationalist politicians typically harken back to a golden age. In Nostalgia for Empire, Hakan Yavuz focuses on how this trend is playing out in Turkey, a nation that lost its empire a century ago and which is now ruled by a nationalist authoritarian who invokes nostalgia for the Ottoman era to buttress his power.Yavuz delves into the social and political origins of expressions of nostalgia for the Ottoman Empire among various groups in Turkey. Exploring why and how certain segments of Turkish society has selectively brought the Ottoman Empire back into public consciousness, Yavuz traces how memory of the Ottoman period has changed. He draws from Turkish literature, mainstream history books, and other cultural products from the 1940s to the twenty-first century to illustrate the transformation. He finds that two key aspects of Turkish literature are, on the one hand, its criticism of the Jacobin modernization of Turkey under Ataturk, and on the other a desire to search the Ottoman past for an alternative political language.Yavuz goes onto to explain how major political actors, including President Erdogan, utilize the concept of empire to craft distinctive conceptualizations of nationalism, Islam, and Ottomanism that exploit national nostalgia. As remembered today, the Ottoman past seems to be grounded in contemporary conservative Islamic values. The combination of these memories and values generates a portrait of Turkey as a victim of major powers, besieged by imagined enemies both internal and external. In mapping out how nostalgia is crafted and spread, this book not only sheds light on Turkey's unique case but also deepens our understanding of nationalism, religion, and modernity.

The Torn Republic provides a comprehensive reinterpretation of modern Turkey's political trajectory, connecting history, memory, and identity to explain the country's ongoing turmoil and shifting foreign policy. Yavuz argues that Turkey remains a “torn republic,” caught between competing civilizational projects-Kemalism, Islamism, neo-Ottomanism, pan-Turkism, and Eurasianism-that continue to shape both domestic politics and international orientation.The book begins with the traumas of Ottoman collapse, the Treaty of Sèvres, and the War of Independence, showing how humiliation and rebirth produced a securitized national culture obsessed with survival. It traces how Atatürk's reforms sought to “civilize” society through Westernization and secularism, even as Kurdish and Islamist resistances preserved suppressed memories and grievances. During the Cold War, Turkey's Western integration deepened security dependence but also blended Islam and nationalism into a new mix. The Cyprus crisis, Kurdish uprisings, and Armenian terrorism revived old fears of division, reinforcing the “Sèvres Syndrome.” Turgut Özal's neoliberal reforms in the 1980s opened new opportunities for conservative groups, while his active foreign policy sparked a neo-Ottoman vision. Yavuz demonstrates how Recep Tayyip Erdoğan transformed these legacies into a neo-patrimonial order. Initially deploying Europeanization to weaken military tutelage, Erdoğan later embraced Islamization and neo-Ottomanism, interpreting the Arab Spring as a civilizational opening. The Gezi protests, corruption scandals, the failed Kurdish peace process, and the 2016 coup attempt turned foreign policy into a survival strategy. Military interventions in Syria, Libya, and Karabakh, transactional deals with Russia, and volatile ties with the West all became instruments of regime consolidation. The Torn Republic portrays Turkey not as a settled regional power but as a liminal state, oscillating between East and West, secularism and Islam, nation and empire-where foreign policy mirrors unresolved traumas and identity struggles.

M. Hakan Yavuz offers an insightful and wide-ranging study of the Gulen Movement, one of the most controversial developments in contemporary Islam. Founded in Turkey by the Muslim thinker Fethullah Gulen, the Gulen Movement aims to disseminate a ''moderate'' interpretation of Islam through faith-based education. Its activities have fundamentally altered religious and political discourse in Turkey in recent decades, and its schools and other institutions have been established throughout Central Asia and the Balkans, as well as western Europe and North America. Consequently, its goals and modus operandi have come under increasing scrutiny around the world.Yavuz introduces readers to the movement, its leader, its philosophies, and its practical applications. After recounting Gulen's personal history, he analyzes Gulen's theological outlook, the structure of the movement, its educational premise and promise, its financial structure, and its contributions (particularly to debates in the Turkish public sphere), its scientific outlook, and its role in interfaith dialogue. Towards an Islamic Enlightenment shows the many facets of the movement, arguing that it is marked by an identity paradox: despite its tremendous contribution to the introduction of a moderate, peaceful, and modern Islamic outlook-so different from the Iranian or Saudi forms of radical and political Islam-the Gulen Movement is at once liberal and communitarian, provoking both hope and fear in its works and influence.

Islam, Populism and Regime Change in Turkey explores the role of religion (Sunni, Hanefi Islam) in the transformation of Turkey under the reign of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP). The chapters argue that the Turkish understanding of secularism was also one of the building blocks and the constitutive elements of Turkey’s modernization until the rise of the AKP. Currently, however, it seems that religion has become a new or re-born element of the new Turkey and has been transforming many areas such as: the media, the Kurdish issue, implementation of the rule of law, foreign policy and gender issues. This book therefore aims to scrutinize the question: how does a religion-based transformation in Turkey influence the raison d’etat of the state, and effect in various ways different areas such as gender, foreign policy, economy and socio-political relations of various power groups within the society?Islam, Populism and Regime Change in Turkey will be of great interest to scholars of Religion and Politics, and governance in Turkey. It was originally published as a special issue of Southeast European and Black Sea Studies.

This book explores the role of religion in the transformation of Turkey under the reign of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP). It attempts to come to terms with the current political crisis in Turkey and the government’s move toward authoritarianism. The chapters included in this book examine various ideological, political and social factors that have driven the transformation of the AKP. The book seeks to answer questions about how and in what direction have the AKP’s objectives and strategies changed in the last two decades the party has been in power, and the divergence between professed ideals and practices. The book also focuses on the major repercussions that the 15 July 2016 coup d'état attempt has had on key Turkish state institutions and policies, and how it has also affected Turkish foreign policy toward regional and international powers. The book addresses the many gaps and omissions in earlier studies of the AKP, and posits that there have been a more complex set of circumstances impacting Turkish politics since 2002 and that it makes little sense to continue to view Turkish politics as just a clash between Islam and secularism. Erdoğan’s Turkey is a significant new contribution to the study of Turkish politics and politics in general, and will be a great resource for academics, researchers and advanced students of Political Science, International Relations, History, Geography and Sociology. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal Middle East Critique.

This book explores the role of religion in the transformation of Turkey under the reign of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP). It attempts to come to terms with the current political crisis in Turkey and the government’s move toward authoritarianism. The chapters included in this book examine various ideological, political and social factors that have driven the transformation of the AKP. The book seeks to answer questions about how and in what direction have the AKP’s objectives and strategies changed in the last two decades the party has been in power, and the divergence between professed ideals and practices. The book also focuses on the major repercussions that the 15 July 2016 coup d'état attempt has had on key Turkish state institutions and policies, and how it has also affected Turkish foreign policy toward regional and international powers. The book addresses the many gaps and omissions in earlier studies of the AKP, and posits that there have been a more complex set of circumstances impacting Turkish politics since 2002 and that it makes little sense to continue to view Turkish politics as just a clash between Islam and secularism. Erdoğan’s Turkey is a significant new contribution to the study of Turkish politics and politics in general, and will be a great resource for academics, researchers and advanced students of Political Science, International Relations, History, Geography and Sociology. The chapters in this book were originally published as a special issue of the journal Middle East Critique.

In 2002 the Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) swept to power in Turkey. Since then it has shied away from a hard-line ideological stance in favour of a more conservative and democratic approach. In this book, M. Hakan Yavuz negotiates this ambivalence asking whether it is possible for a political party with a deeply religious ideology to liberalise and entertain democracy or whether, as he contends, radical religious groups moderate their practices and ideologies when forced to negotiate a competitive and rule-based political system. The author explores the thesis through an analysis of the rise and evolution of the AKP and its more recent 2007 election victory. The book, which tackles a number of important issues including political participation, economics and internal security, provides a masterful survey of modern Turkish and Islamic politics, which will be of interest to a broad range of readers from students to professionals and policymakers.

In 2002 the Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) swept to power in Turkey. Since then it has shied away from a hard-line ideological stance in favour of a more conservative and democratic approach. In this book, M. Hakan Yavuz negotiates this ambivalence asking whether it is possible for a political party with a deeply religious ideology to liberalise and entertain democracy or whether, as he contends, radical religious groups moderate their practices and ideologies when forced to negotiate a competitive and rule-based political system. The author explores the thesis through an analysis of the rise and evolution of the AKP and its more recent 2007 election victory. The book, which tackles a number of important issues including political participation, economics and internal security, provides a masterful survey of modern Turkish and Islamic politics, which will be of interest to a broad range of readers from students to professionals and policymakers.

This work examines reformations of Islam and culture in Turkey and the successful Islamic modernist Fethullah Gulen movement.

Islam, Populism and Regime Change in Turkey explores the role of religion (Sunni, Hanefi Islam) in the transformation of Turkey under the reign of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP). The chapters argue that the Turkish understanding of secularism was also one of the building blocks and the constitutive elements of Turkey’s modernization until the rise of the AKP. Currently, however, it seems that religion has become a new or re-born element of the new Turkey and has been transforming many areas such as: the media, the Kurdish issue, implementation of the rule of law, foreign policy and gender issues. This book therefore aims to scrutinize the question: how does a religion-based transformation in Turkey influence the raison d’etat of the state, and effect in various ways different areas such as gender, foreign policy, economy and socio-political relations of various power groups within the society?Islam, Populism and Regime Change in Turkey will be of great interest to scholars of Religion and Politics, and governance in Turkey. It was originally published as a special issue of Southeast European and Black Sea Studies.

This book presents a comprehensive overview of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, the long-running dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the Armenian-majority region of Azerbaijan. It outlines the historical development of the dispute, explores the political and social aspects of the conflict, examines the wars over the territory including the war of 2020 which resulted in a significant Azerbaijani victory, and discusses the international dimensions.

President Erdoğan’s resilience as Turkey’s leader makes for an extraordinary political study of longevity, charisma and strategic decision-making. Uncovering the person behind the persona, M. Hakan Yavuz draws on 250 first-hand interviews to untangle the web of literary, religious and biographical influences that shaped Erdogan’s personality, ideology and world view. With chapters covering the Gezi park protests, the clash between the AKP and Gülen movement, the Kurdish question and the country’s projected image as a major international power, Yavuz explores how Erdoğan has created a ‘New Turkey’ – a hybrid political entity, neither East nor West, democratic nor dictatorial, Islamic nor secular.

President Erdoğan’s resilience as Turkey’s leader makes for an extraordinary political study of longevity, charisma and strategic decision-making. Uncovering the person behind the persona, M. Hakan Yavuz draws on 250 first-hand interviews to untangle the web of literary, religious and biographical influences that shaped Erdogan’s personality, ideology and world view. With chapters covering the Gezi park protests, the clash between the AKP and Gülen movement, the Kurdish question and the country’s projected image as a major international power, Yavuz explores how Erdoğan has created a ‘New Turkey’ – a hybrid political entity, neither East nor West, democratic nor dictatorial, Islamic nor secular.

Following the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, the Treaty of Berlin (1878) - the final act of the Congress of Berlin - was enacted by the United Kingdom, Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, and the Ottoman Empire. The treaty recognised the complete independence of the principalities of Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro, and the autonomy of Bulgaria. The three newly independent states subsequently proclaimed themselves kingdoms - Romania in 1881, Serbia in 1882, and Montenegro in 1910 - and in 1908 Bulgaria proclaimed full independence and Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia, sparking a major European crisis.Representing the latest scholarship in this field of study, War and Diplomacy documents the proceedings of a conference on the Treaty of Berlin that was held at the University of Utah in 2010. The reorganisation of country borders in central and eastern Europe after the Treaty of Berlin led to the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913 and eventually to World War I. During this period the three great empires - Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian - were falling apart at the same time that the nation-state in the Balkans was rising. This volume provides an important contribution to understanding the historical background of these events. War and Diplomacy documents the proceedings of the first of three conferences: 1878 Treaty of Berlin (in 2010) Balkan Wars (in 2011) World War I (in 2012) Proceedings of the final two conferences will also be published by the University of Utah Press.

War and Nationalism presents a thorough collection of scholarship on the often misunderstood and neglected Balkan Wars of 1912 to 1913 that contributed to the outbreak of World War I. The essays contain critical inquiries into the diverse and interconnected processes of social, economic, and political exchange that escalated into conflict. The wars represented a pivotal moment in the region that had a long-lasting impact on the regional state system and fundamentally transformed the beleaguered Ottoman Empire in the process. This interdisciplinary volume stands as a critique of the standard discourse regarding the Balkan Wars and effectively questions many of the assumptions of prevailing modern nation-state histories, which have long privileged the ethno-religious dimensions present in the Balkans. The authors go to great lengths in demonstrating the fluidity of social, geographical, and cultural boundaries before 1912 and call into serious question the “nationalist watershed” notion that was artificially imposed by manipulative historiography and political machination following the end of fighting in 1913. War and Nationalism will be of interest to scholars looking to enrich their own understanding of an overshadowed historical event and will serve as a valuable contribution to courses on Ottoman and European history.

On July 15, 2016, a faction of the Turkish military attempted to overthrow the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The Turkish government blamed the unsuccessful coup attempt on Gülenists, adherents of an Islamist movement led by Fethullah Gülen. They had helped elect Erdoğan and his AK Party, with the goal of bringing an ostensibly “soft” version of Islam into the secular Turkish government. In alliance with the AK Party, Gülenists steadfastly increased their representation in various government institutions, including the military, the police, and the judiciary. This volume focuses on the historical and sociopolitical contexts of the Gülen Movement’s origins and political ascendancy along with its possible role in the failed coup. Editors Yavuz and Balcı are among the first international scholars to have studied the movement from its nascent stages in Turkey. The volume's contributors include scholars who have researched the movement in Turkey, Central Asia, and the Balkans. The result is a comprehensive, timely assessment of numerous dimensions of Gülenist activities, including its social and political networks and the institutions that supported the movement as it became a major economic and educational force in Turkey and elsewhere. This volume reflects exchanges among scholars who having studied the Gülenists, assembled to discuss how and why the movement became belligerent opponents of Erdoğan’s government, and it addresses questions such as how this major, still continuing disruption in Turkey’s politics will affect not only the future of the movement but also that of Turkey's embattled democracy as well.

This book also explores how such wars begin and end, the international legal precedents of self-determination versus territorial integrity, its implications for post-Soviet developments and conflicts, and the latest successful weaponsdevelopments lessons from the recent war involving drones, among others such as Azerbaijan’s rich oil reserves.

This book also explores how such wars begin and end, the international legal precedents of self-determination versus territorial integrity, its implications for post-Soviet developments and conflicts, and the latest successful weaponsdevelopments lessons from the recent war involving drones, among others such as Azerbaijan’s rich oil reserves.

This book discusses the life and professional struggle of Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and the transformation of the CHP under his leadership. It deals with the transformational periods and phases of the CHP, up to the period when Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu became prominent in the party. The CHP’s transformation and how it variously affected its popular standing in public opinion and revealed political liabilities and limitations cumulatively can indicate and explain to what extent political parties are likely to change as leadership changes and different regime governing approaches take hold. Furthermore, this book aims to answer the following questions: How and for what reasons did Kılıçdaroğlu decide to ally with the center-right wing in the CHP? What was the collective impact of the center-right wing in positive and negative terms regarding the CHP’s general identity, especially in historical context? After the 2015 elections, what constituted the shifts and revisions in Kılıçdaroğlu’s ideology andhow did they alter the political power of the CHP as a major opposition party? What evidence exists to shed light on his capabilities for building coalitions as a viable option for the possibility of forming a national government in elections?

This edited book examines and analyses Heydar Aliyev, the architect and founder of modern, post-Soviet Azerbaijan. The editors of the volume discuss developments between 1993 and 2003 – a decade that saw the establishment of the institutional foundations of the current republic, the adoption of a new form of national identity, the redefinition of the concept of the Azerbaijani state, and the creation of a security establishment designed to gain control of territories Armenia had held since the 1988-1994 war over Karabakh. The book explains why this fateful period had far-reaching consequences for Azerbaijan as a fully formed state and society, as well as major implications for its political future and its geopolitical strategy.