Zeitgeist

The is book the culmination of 10 years of scholarly endeavor. I had intended to compile my op -eds and comments that appeared in various daillies in a book for a long time. Although other engagements had deterred ne from doing so until now, I have finally succeeded in concluding this project.The esssays that make up this book are some of my commentaries and op - eds written for several Turkish daille, such as Turkish Daily News, Turkish New and The New Anatolian between 1998 and 2007.The book is composed of nine chapters. The first chapter covers my commentaries on Tukish domestic politics and addresses Turkish politics over the last ten years, including the rise of political Islam, the Kurdish issue and the impact of both on Turkey's domestic politicians perceptions of the world and Turkey's place in it. Political developments in Turkey in the - post-28 February (1997) process are widely discussed. Furthermore, the coalition of nationalist parties, the capture of A. Öcalan, the leader of the terrorist organization PKK, and its implications on Turkish politics are some of the other important issues dealt with in this chapter. Finally, the first chapter contains assesments regarding the AK party government and its performance in Turkey.