September 22, 2014

'Turkish schools are excellent good will ambassadors for Turkey'

Internationally acclaimed sociologist Professor Vincent N. Parrillo from William Paterson University in New Jersey, the author of a dozen books and numerous journal articles, some translated into nine languages, has been conducting research about Gülen-inspired schools over the last several years.

The judiciary, last bastion of democracy, at risk

Abdullah Bozkurt

The election for Turkey's key judicial council, the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), on Oct. 12 will determine whether the last bastion of democracy will remain an independent and competent body in relation to other branches of the government -- the legislative and executive, which have already been seized by political Islamists. So much is riding on the outcome of this election that Turks' hopes may be dashed for a strong, independent and impartial judiciary, which would dare risking its neck against an increasingly authoritarian government and a tyrannical president.

Joking Erdoğan and his ministers

Selçuk Gültaşlı

Weakened ties to reality are leading to a heightened sense of absurdity in Ankara's dealings with Brussels. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and many of his government ministers (completely unrelated to corruption) appear to be weakening their ties with reality more and more every day in an attempt to rescue themselves from allegations of corruption. In the meantime, the statements we are hearing, as these ties with reality weaken, seem to come off almost like jokes.

Civil servants victims of profiling, now face investigations

Many civil servants of the Ministry of Family and Social Policy who were recently found to have been blacklisted by the government are now facing investigations over baseless allegations, bureaucrats within the ministry have claimed.

Leaving a unique mark on economic history

Ali Aslan Kılıç

While explaining the "trust" factor in economies, professors at economics faculties underline the importance of social psychology. They list examples of how people panic and trigger economic crises when speculation about a bank is voiced.