Turkey: At the Crossroads of Secular West and Traditional East

Authors

Padideh Ala'i, American University Washington College of LawFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2009

Journal

American University International Law Review

Volume

24

Issue

4

Abstract

On January 9, 2008 Washington College of Law at American University sponsored a conference entitled: Turkey: At the Crossroads of Secular West and Traditional East. This conference was percipitated by the recent election of the AKP party in Turkey and my trip to Turkey in summer 2007. In this short introduction to the American University International law Review symposium issue, I summarize the major issues raised in that one day conference specifically by Dean Haluk Kabaalioglu of Yeditepe University Facutly of Law, expert on EU law and Turkish-EU relations,and Professor Feroz Ahmad, the learned historian of modern Turkey. The aim of the conference was three fold: (1) address the legacy of Mustafa Kamal Ataturk, (2) discuss the questions of Turkish accession to the EU; and (3) provide a forum for a discussion of the current tensions in Turkey between the ideal of secularism and assertions of Islamic identity. All three goals highligh Turkey's unique status as a country caught between secular west and the traditional east with the potential to serve as a bridge and/or a battleground between the two.

Recommended Citation

Padideh Ala'i, Turkey: At the Crossroads of Secular West and Traditional East, 24 American University International Law Review (2009).
Available at: https://digitalcommons.wcl.american.edu/facsch_lawrev/1233