Headscarves and Lawsuits

Spencer Boyer at The Root insists that “Turkey is vital to our national and international security interests,” and suggests that when the courts agreed to hear a case to ban ruling AK Party , it “set in motion a dangerous chain of events that could undo years of political and economic progress in Turkey. “

Boyer believes Turkey is “serving as a literal and figurative link between East and West. ” If the AKP is banned from participating in the political process, he argues that the nation will lose its “credibility” in the Middle East, therefore “hindering its political capital,” which will “in turn, will make Turkey a less effective security partner for the United States. “

The lawsuit comes on the heals of the recent push for the AKP to end the ban on headscarves at public universities. The Washington Institute for Near East Policy provides analysis on the EU view on the constitutional amendments passed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party.

The Middle East Institute recently released an interesting policy brief on “The Turkish Business Climate,” by Robert Loony. The analysis highlights the current climate “in the face of political, social, and economic trends in the country.”