The AKP,sectarianism, and the Alevis’ struggle for equal rights in Turkey

ABSTRACT

The Justice and Development Party (AKP), which has been ruling Turkey since 2002, was founded by a splinter group from within the Islamist Virtue Party (FP). The most obvious difference between the old guard of the FP and the younger, reformist cadres who established the AKP was the latter’s deliberate and efficacious implementation of the discourse of democracy and human rights in articulating their political agenda. This discursive shift not only increased the AKP’s votes, but also gained them many supporters among liberal intellectuals in Turkey and abroad, who saw in them a potential to reconcile Islam with democracy. So much was invested in this hopeful vision that pro-AKP liberals for a long time turned a blind eye to many contrary developments in the country or tried to diminish their significance. One such major blind spot has been the Alevis, who after nearly 14 years of AKP rule continue to face formal and informal discrimination on a daily basis. Despite their alleged commitment to religious freedom, and notwithstanding an ephemeral ‘Alevi opening’ in 2007–2008, the disenfranchisement of the Alevis has only deepened under the AKP with its accelerated top-down Islamization of broader Turkish society and the corollary intensification of sectarian discourse both in domestic and foreign policy.     

An Examination of Factors Affecting Economic Status and Finances Satisfaction of Families: A Comparison of Metropolitan and Rural Areas

Research on the family financial management behavior has gained a great impetus over 30 years. There has been a growing interest in the question of how families organize or manage their economic resources and financial satisfaction. The main purpose of this study is to examine factors affecting financial behaviors and financial satisfaction of families who live in metropolitan and rural areas. Participants in the study consist of women who are married and dwelling in Ankara and Karabuk cities of Turkey. A total of 3,046 female (with an approximate 87 % participation rate) are participated in the study on a voluntary (Ankara n = 1,300; Karabuk n = 1,746). Results indicated that 45.4 % of females have determined that economic decision making are always shared by couples (Ankara 41.9 %; Karabuk 47.9 %). Among women who lived in Ankara (62.3 %) have not saving their income, while the group of Karabuk (51.4 %) have sometimes saving. Similar results have been found in terms of the expenditure behaviors among the families who are living in both of the metropolitan and rural areas. The rates of the families living both in Ankara and Karabuk who state that they have become indebted due to various reasons (Ankara 56.5 %; Karabuk 72.9 %) is higher compared to those who state they have not become indebted. Among the females who stated that they are “very dissatisfied” from their savings behavior, “satisfied” with their expenditure behaviors and “dissatisfied” with their debt behaviors are higher percentage (50.6 %, 47.9 %, and 48.3 % respectively).     

The Gratification of Psychological Needs and Well‐Being Among Turkish Adolescents: An Examination of Direct and Indirect Links

Based on the self‐determination theory (SDT), the present study tested a mediational model in a cross‐sectional data and found that gratification of basic psychological needs (GBPN; autonomy, relatedness, and competence) in adolescents’ relationships with their mother and father is linked with wellness (life satisfaction, problem‐solving confidence, and anxiety), through family cohesion, and disclosure and secrecy from mother. Adolescents (N = 1,097; 61.6% girls, M_age = 15.12, SD = 0.64; range = 14–16 years) were from nine public schools in Istanbul, Turkey. Findings showed that GBPN in the relationship with each parent has unique contribution to family cohesion, adolescent disclosure and secrecy from parents, and wellness. Findings also supported SDT’s claim that GBPN is conducive to well‐being cross‐culturally.     

An integrated environmental risk assessment framework for coal-fired power plants: A fuzzy logic approach

This study quantifies the environmental risk of a coal-fired thermal power plant during operation by using environmental monitoring data, site surveys, and documented evidence. The following criteria are assessed: emissions (CO, SO₂, NO_x, PM₁₀), impact on aquatic ecosystem (fish protection at cooling water intake and cooling water discharge temperature), and waste management (fly ash and bottom ash). Fuzzy sets were defined for each criterion, taking environmental regulatory context as an expert judgment. A survey was conducted with multiple stakeholders to determine the relative importance of risk factors. The survey results showed that the most concerned risks are SO₂ and NO_x emissions. The proposed method estimates the risk of each environmental criterion separately and then accumulates them into an environmental risk index (ERI). Accordingly, we assessed the Catalagzi coal-fired power plant, which has been in operation on the Black Sea coast in northwestern Turkey. For this case study, the ERI resulted in a value of 0.78 (on a scale of 0–1), showing high environmental risk to the facility. Moreover, the applicability of the proposed framework was tested in several existing coal-fired power plants using simultaneous measurements. All studied coal-fired power plants in Turkey have unacceptable pollutants (PM₁₀, SO₂, and NO_x) concentration levels indicating high health risk potential. The application of the integrated environmental risk assessment framework showed that new environmental regulations are needed in Turkey to specify more strict emission limits and to monitor CO₂, fine particulate matter emissions, cooling water discharge, and fish protection at cooling water intake.     

A Tale of Two Seasons: Participation and Medal Counts at the Summer and Winter Olympic Games*

Objectives. This article examines all postwar Summer and Winter Olympic Games in order to investigate the economic and political determinants of participation and medal‐winning success. Methods. Using newly compiled data, regression analysis gives intuitive results with surprisingly accurate predictions beyond the historical sample. We also estimate the rise in income per capita required to send an extra participant, and the “cost” in GDP per capita of an extra medal. Results. Compared to the Summer Games, Winter participation levels are driven more by income and less by population, have less host nation bias, and a greater effect of climate. Single‐party and communist regimes win more medals in both seasons. Conclusion. Although their effects differ with the season of the Games, socioeconomic variables explain Olympic participation and success remarkably well.     

Adolescent–Parent Relations in Asian Indian and Salvadoran Immigrant Families: A Cultural–Developmental Analysis of Autonomy,Authority, Conflict,and Cohesion

From a cultural perspective, this study addressed the two developmental theories that adolescents want more autonomy and fewer parental rules than parents consider appropriate, and that discrepancy between adolescents and parents on views of autonomy and authority result in decreased cohesion and increased conflict. The study included 100 adolescent–parent dyads who were immigrants to the United States from El Salvador and India. While findings pointed to cross‐cultural commonalities, such as autonomy seeking among adolescents, they also highlighted the importance of culture to different meanings of autonomy and the limits of the discrepancy thesis. The discussion calls for future scholarship to include concepts of salience to diverse groups such as family interdependence and appreciation for the parental immigrant experience.