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2 Book Reviews Turkey from Empire to Revolutionary Republic: The Emergence of the Turkish Nation from 1789 to Present by Sina Akşin / 160 & 163 Renée Worringer & İştar Günaydın The Pedagogical State Education and the Politics of National Culture in Post-1980 Turkey by Sam Kaplan / 166 Seyfi Kenan Identity and Identity Formation in the Ottoman World, A Volume of Essays in Honor of Norman Itzkowitz Edited by Baki Tezcan and Karl K. Barbir / 170 Nur Bilge Criss European Solidarity Edited by Nathalie Karagiannis / 172 Lars Magnusson Secularism Confronts Islam by Olivier Roy / 174 Talip Küçükcan Breeding Bin Ladens: America, Islam and the Future of Europe by Zachary Shore / 176 Tahir Abbas Islam after Communism: Religion and Politics in Central Asia by Adeeb Khalid / 178 Akiko Kurata
Editor’s Note İHSAN DAĞI The closure case against the ruling AK Party pending before the constitutional court occupied the center stage of Turkish politics throughout the summer. After months of speculation on the fate of the party, the court finally reached a verdict in late July, deciding not to close down the AK Party, and averting what had otherwise promised to be an unprecedented level of political uncertainty, social and economic turmoil, and potential chaos. With the closure case now behind it, the AK Party is expected to be more restrained, and to act responsibly – as it did during the proceedings of the case – while building up its democratic and secular credentials through a reform policy in keeping with the EU accession process. For some time, the ruling AK Party had been under pressure for neglecting, if not abandoning, the EU membership process. In response to critics the government may refocus its energy on the issues that have stalled Turkey’s accession. While still recovering from the closure threat, Turkey’s political leaders found themselves in the midst of a difficult diplomatic mission: calming the Caucasus down in the wake of the August war between Russia and Georgia. Paradoxically, the crisis in the Caucasus came both as a reminder of the foreign policy challenges that lie ahead in the region for Turkey, and of Turkey’s geopolitical capacity to address current and potential crisis spots in the volatile surrounding regions. The conflict in the Caucasus involved three indispensable partners for Turkey: Georgia and the United States on the one hand, and Russia on the other. Georgia is the only land corridor linking Turkey with the Caspian region and Central Asia; moreover, the critical Baku-Ceyhan oil pipeline runs through its territory. Maintaining cooperation with Georgia therefore remains crucial for Turkey’s strategic weight, as it provides the means for reaching out to the Caspian and Central Asian hinterlands. The close eco- 3
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