Hakk or Right: A Veblenian Narration of the Differences between the Justice Notions in Western Europe and Turkey

Using Veblen's status emulation theory in the background, but essentially engaged in theoretical debates on the transition to capitalism and modernity, this paper attempts to provide a comparative account of different forms of domination in Western European feudal society and the Ottoman Empire. In contrast, an individualistic representation of reality gained prevalence in social conflicts in Western Europe, precisely because forms of exploitation associated with European serfdom were far more severe and un‐tempered than was true for the Ottoman Empire. Due to being short of a legitimate claim to genuine nobility, Western European feudal aristocracy was driven into an insatiable hunger for luxury and waste. In the absence of a powerful central authority, members of this class “turned inward” for their ever‐increasing exploits and waged war against their servants, living and working under their private jurisdictions. The peasants, both free and serf, not only revolted repeatedly, but also ran into the cities to have “fairly secure property rights” so that they would be “the lord” or “dominus” of their own lives and morality. Out of this, a new justice notion had grown, that of natural rights law, which equated all human individuals within one single concern, that of “the right to self‐preservation,” eventually dragging the whole social fabric into heightened self‐centeredness. The Ottoman ruling class could not turn inward and wage an open class war against its servants. This was the land of peace, dar‐al Islam. All people, Muslim and non‐Muslim lived, or were supposed to live, in peace and harmony under the supreme order of Hakk. The transition to an individualistic justice notion along the lines of natural rights law was on the whole clogged in Turkey.     

Turkish Capitalist Modernity and the Gezi Revolt

In this paper an attempt is made to reassess how and why the laic/Islamic dual opposition has come to be a decisive factor in the politics of Turkish capitalist modernity. The question as to whether this opposition may survive into the twenty‐first century is briefly discussed. It is noted that in the aftermath of the prolonged confrontation between the emergent imagined community of the Gezi Revolt and the Islamist AKP government, a religiously neutral political identity came into sight in public life, which can be considered as the harbinger of a new kind of social individuality, one which is incommensurate with the laic/Islamic dual opposition.     

Turkey's physicians' attitudes toward euthanasia: a brief research report

Euthanasia and assisted suicide are subject to an ongoing debate and discussed with various aspects. Because physicians are in a profession closely related to euthanasia, their attitudes toward this subject are significant. Thus, research intending to explore their opinions is carried out in many countries. In this study, opinions of the physicians regarding euthanasia's definition, contents, legal aspects, and acceptable conditions for its application are addressed. The questionnaire was given to 949 physicians, more than 1% of the total working in Turkey. Of the physicians who participated in the study, 49.9% agreed with the opinion that euthanasia should be legal in certain circumstances. In addition, 19% had come across a euthanasia request and the majority of physicians (55.9%) believed that euthanasia is applied secretly in the country despite the prohibitory legislation. In conclusion, the authors infer from the study itself and believe that euthanasia should be legal in certain circumstances and that the subject, which is not in the agenda of the Turkish population, should continue to be examined.     

我国在中亚地区的安全利益分析及其对策

目前,我国在中亚地区的利益与在该地区的力量和影响严重失衡。基于中国、美国、中亚地区政治、经济和安全利益的需要,我国应当通过加强与中亚国家的政治、经贸和安全关系,开展多边安全合作,增强自身实力和影响以抵御美国对中亚周边国家的渗透形成对我国的遏制,构建地区和谐和稳定的安全关系。     

A longitudinal study of some dimensions of socioeconomic development: Turkey 1948–77

Aspects of socioeconomic development in Turkey between 1948 and 1977 are studied through the use of obliquely rotated principal compenents. The results indicate that long-term developmental trends, which appear in the cross-sectional studies of Adelman and Morris, were slowed down by problems of sociopolitical integration during the sample period. In addition, the analysis shows that multivariate techniques such as compenent analysis can be used at the initial stages of theory construction in the field of socioeconomic development. The hypotheses developed via these methods are testable by others that use the deductive approach.     

Does International Migration Encourage Consumerism in the Country of Origin?—A Turkish Study

As part of a larger inquiry into the consequences of international migration for those who remain in the country of origin, detailed interviews were conducted with 234 adults in four Turkish provinces. Three migrant-status categories were defined: (a) Returned migrants, (b) Non-migrant close kin or friends of migrants, and, as a control group, (c) All others. Group (a) was the most likely to own various manufactured items, and group (c) the least, with group (b) in between. But when, within each migrant-status category, those who did not own but wanted a particular item were added to those who already owned it, much of the difference by migrant-status disappeared. This was particularly so with regard to necessities. Controlling for age, sex, urban-rural residence, and schooling produced an essentially inconsistent pattern of association between these characteristics and owning or wanting a particular item. It did, however, reveal a widespread persistence of not wanting one or another of these items side by side with a pattern of wanting it. While owning or wanting something seemed to receive only limited support from the consumption patterns of relatives and friends, not wanting something seemed to receive considerable support from this source. This seems unlikely to continue, however, in the face of changes now taking place in Turkey.     

Socio-economic Development and International Migration: A Turkish Study

The root causes of international migration have been the subject of many studies, a vast majority of which are based on development theories dominated by economy-oriented perspectives. An underlying assumption is that poverty breeds migration. The results, and the conclusions drawn from these studies, differ widely. For instance, whether emigration increases when poverty becomes more extreme, or less extreme, or why it reaches certain levels, are issues on which research still offers a mixed answer.
This article investigates the relationship between economic development and migration by taking into consideration the degrees of economic development that form thresholds for migration. It focuses on recent evidence on the development-emigration relationship in Turkey which reflects a dimension of the dynamics and mechanisms facilitating or restricting migratory flows from the country.
Using data from the 1995 District-level Socio-economic Development Index of Turkey (DSDI) and the 1990 Census, the principal aim of the article is to provide an analytical base which identifies degrees of local level of development in Turkey, relate these to international migration flows, and examine patterns of the development-migration relationship.     

Restoring Hope for Syrian Refugees: Social Support Students Need to Excel at School

This qualitative, phenomenological case study was designed to elicit Syrian refugee students’ perceptions regarding the individuals who provide them with the social support needed for academic success. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 male Syrian eighth graders at a public middle school in Lebanon. House's social support framework guided this study and served as the theoretical lens through which data were collected and analysed. Findings from this study revealed teachers, supervisors, and administrators as expected major providers of the social supports that Syrian refugee students need to excel in their studies. However, when students do not find support where they might expect it to be, they adopt coping strategies such as independence, perseverance, self-efficacy, and peer-teaching. These findings are of primary importance to school administrators, humanitarian aid agencies, and policymakers. The article concludes with recommendations for practice and future research.     

The Autonomy of the State,Radical Left and Karatani's Capital‐Nation‐State: The Turkish Left of 1960‐1971

The purpose of this paper is to provide an account of how leading radical left movements of Turkey in 1960–71 conceptualized the state. The analytical framework draws on the mode of exchange framework developed by Kojin Karatani. The Turkish Left was unable to theorize the autonomy of the state, the construction of the nation as an imagined community, and the importance of popular resistance against the state's destruction of traditional communities. Right‐wing political parties filled this vacuum with the populist discourse of nation. The Turkish Left conceded its social base to right‐wing parties and hence lost the opportunity of winning political efficacy. Our critical assessment of the Left of Turkey in 1960–71 is pertinent to discussions about present‐day left‐wing strategies that leave the nation and ravaged communities to right parties to exploit or utilise as part of their program.