For many, one would assume the U.S. was the country best prepared for a pandemic like that of the coronavirus. As the global superpower, possible threats posed against it are expected to be well studied and researched. Indeed, they have been. For the last 20 years, the potential impact of a contagious disease on national security has been the subject of various intelligence and security assessments.

There is no clear and credible scientific data available yet to indicate when the coronavirus will end. There are some projections and more speculations about it. For some, it may wind down by the end of summer; for others it will end only to make a stronger comeback in fall. In the last two months, different people from the U.S. administration have provided a different set of projections. U.S. President Donald Trump, who once said, “It’s going to disappear. One day, it’s like a miracle, it will disappear” seems to have adopted a cautious perspective about a potential timeline. He now believes the crisis may continue until the end of summer.

Though bloodless, coup against conservative government in Turkey on Feb. 28, 1997 still painful to remember

Nowadays, all eyes are fixed on the relations between Turkey and the United States. Against the backdrop of tensions, the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) celebrated its 17th birthday at an event hosted by the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA) on Tuesday.

The AK Party's insistence for dynamism and change will help refresh itself in the new period under the leadership of Erdoğan

If Washington wants to protect the Turkey-U.S. alliance, it has to re-evaluate what happened on the night of July 15.

Everyone must critically examine themselves with regard to their approach to the Gülen Movement; including politicians, journalists, academics, businessmen and the commoners.

The current discussion ongoing with a focus on FETÖ's confessions is turning into an interrogation that attributes the crimes of an unprecedented totalitarian and operational structure to other Islamic factions.

That night, the turbulence we have been experiencing for the last three years climbed to its peak. We have entered a period in which the consolidation of our democracy cannot be revoked

The reason behind the Feb. 28 post-modern coup, which was an outcome of the past military tutelage of politics, was economic

The moral of this true story for starters on Turkey is to never take anything at face value in Turkey's wild politics.

Can the Turkish military be democratic? This is a crucial question for Turkish democracy and by extension for a number of chronic problems which have plagued Turkish society for decades

Turkey has a unique experience in state formation, in formulating state-religion relations, but some painful periods in its history regarding democratization. The military intervention on Sept. 12, 1980 suspended Turkey's fragile democracy and caused a breakdown in party politics by banning all political parties and sending their leaders to trial. The first election after the military coup in 1983 was a turning point in Turkish political history, and the election results and subsequent government policies under Turgut Ozal's premiership changed the course of Turkish political culture for decades to come. Ozal's center-right liberal-conservative Motherland Party (then called ANAP, now ANAVATAN) launched a liberalization and democratization policy in Turkey, which facilitated the expression of Islam in the public sphere to a greater degree than before. As part of its policy, the government deleted Articles 141, 142 and 163 of the Constitution to lift obstacles to freedom of thought. ANAP also adopted a free market economy through a large-scale privatization movement.

When Turkish-Israeli relations were formalized in March 28, 1949, Turkey became the first Muslim state to recognize the state of Israel; however, relations were kept at a minimum level for decades. From 1949 to the early 1990s, relations were very fragile and followed a fluctuating pattern. This pattern was replaced by the “honeymoon years” starting from the late 1990’s.

Since 2000, relations regained its historically fluctuating pattern and this continues to characterize the nature of relations between Turkey and Israel today. When Turkish-Israeli relations were formalized in March 28, 1949, Turkey became the first Muslim state to recognize the state of Israel; however, relations were kept at a minimum level for decades. From 1949 to the early 1990s, relations were very fragile and followed a fluctuating pattern. This pattern was replaced by the “honeymoon years” starting from the late 1990’s. The late 1990s marked by the soft coup of 1997, also known as the “February 28 Process,” constituted an exception in the pattern and level of relations between Turkey and Israel. Since 2000, relations regained its historically fluctuating pattern and this continues to characterize the nature of relations between Turkey and Israel today.

SETA PUBLIC LECTURE by Naser Elmanea, SRPR Date: February 28, 2011 Monday Time: 16.00 - 18.00 Venue: SETA, Ankara

Turkey, after a long time, is undertaking elections to build a new future instead of overcoming a crisis situation.