Turkey’s east is a blind alley
Güven Sak, PhD
30 March 2012
Turkey is part of the European economy. Its production capacity has become more sophisticated only because of the European market. The Customs Union agreement has been good for Turkey. It has played a major role in the global integration process of the last decade. It has helped Turkey’s exports diversify and become more sophisticated. It has upgraded Turkey from a low-tech exporter to a medium-tech exporter. The Customs Union agreement has insulated the Turkish industry against East Asian competition for a long time and contributed to the advancement of the electronic and automotive industries. So, has the agreement lost importance now? I do not think so. Let me tell you why. The agreement was validated after the reforms introduced by Kemal Derviş Turkey signed the Customs Union Agreeme
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How does Syria affect Gaziantep?
Güven Sak, PhD
27 March 2012
The wave of transformation that recently has overcome us is not good for Turkey. It is not good for Gaziantep, either. I was in Gaziantep when I first saw a leaflet on the investment climate in Syria. At that time, Syria had recently opened a consulate in the city. The consulate was distributing leaflets that said, “Invest in Syria.” By the way, the leaflets were written in Turkish, obviously. Back then, Syria was a blessing for Gaziantep. But how about today? Is it bad for Gaziantep that it is a neighbor of Syria? At first glance, it might look as if it is. In reality, however, it is not exactly. We need to look under the hood to answer this question. Yes, the Syrian crisis will affect Turkey differently in each region. The industrial centers which predominantly export to the Middle Easte
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Why the Koreans feel betrayed
Güven Sak, PhD
24 March 2012
I do not recall any political leader in Turkey’s past who was committed to free market principles in the way Korean leader Park Chung Hee was. I was surprised, at a recent conference in Seoul, to find out the Koreans feel betrayed. Not over some Western policy toward North Korea, mind you. They feel betrayed by the global financial system for allowing Greece to be bailed out. They are disturbed by how quickly some Europeans reached to nonmarket solutions when things got tough. Perhaps the Germans should look to expand the Union to Asia. What perplexed me, however, is not how Koreans feel about this, but that I have not heard of a similar argument in Turkey. Why do we, as the neighbors of Greece and candidates for EU membership, not feel cheated by the nonmarket solutions in Gree
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I felt like a loser in Seoul
Güven Sak, PhD
23 March 2012
If you are proud of İstinye Park in Istanbul, Seoul is entirely designed like that. I have been in South Korea’s capital Seoul for the last few days. This is my first time here. On your way from the airport to the hotel in any country, you can easily understand if you are in a civilized city or in a hardship area. Seoul is at the heart of civilization. You can tell if a city is civilized simply from its streets. Let me tell you how.
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Anatolia is not in the Customs Union yet
Güven Sak, PhD
20 March 2012
The main clients for the emerging industrial centers of Anatolia are the Middle East and North Africa, not Europe. Turkey as a whole signed the Customs Union (CU) agreement only on paper. In legal terms, Anatolia is under the scope of the CU. In practice, however, Europe is not the main client for the emerging industrial centers of Anatolia. Mustafa Boydak, member of TOBB Executive Board and Chairman of the Kayseri Chamber of Industry, explained why during the Uludağ Economics Summit: because domestic transportation costs are extremely high in Turkey. Since Anatolia is distant from the European market, it is not able to utilize the benefits of the CU to the highest extent possible. Anatolia is outside of the CU not because Europe excludes Anatolia as a center of production. It is because t
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How Syria is so much like Turkey
Güven Sak, PhD
17 March 2012
I have been thinking about how much Syria resembles Turkey lately. This year of unrest across the border gave me a whole new perspective. The similarity is obviously not one of industrial development, production of sophisticated goods or democratic development. It is a similarity of style. I have come to this conclusion after being regularly exposed to President al-Assad of Syria on Turkish television this past year. He is usually shown addressing Syria’s Parliament in a colossal room with wood-ornamented walls. All the MPs are constantly applauding his every word, and there is at least one standing ovation at every meeting. Sound familiar? I have been accustomed to this since my childhood, from our own weekly party meetings at the Turkish Grand National Assembly. So Turkey’s pol
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What happened to education during the strife?
Güven Sak, PhD
16 March 2012
Do you realize what has happened to education as a result of the strife? Do you understand what the final draft of the education reform bill the commission has adopted implies? Do you understand what happened when the MPs started to fight tooth and nail during the commission meeting last week? Do you realize what happened to education as a result of the strife? Do you understand what the final draft of the education reform bill the commission has adopted implies? I have been trying to figure it out for some time. The Turkish press was really amazing when covering the issue. They covered how many people occupied the meeting hall, which MPs prevented which from talking, how many times MPs were kicked, and what was thrown at the Commission Chair’s head. There was, however, no coverage of the
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Why are the people and the deputies of the parliament not alike?
Güven Sak, PhD
13 March 2012
Why were the people in Antalya able to discuss any issue around a roundtable, looking each other in the eye, when their deputies have been brawling in Ankara? Last Sunday I was in Antalya, attending the seventh of the Citizens’ Meetings that the Constitution Platform has been organizing with the motto “Turkey Speaks.” The first meeting of the series was held in Ankara, as a pilot event. The Konya and Edirne meetings validated that the system worked. In Diyarbakir, we shifted up a gear. The Izmir meeting was just amazing. On 8 March 8, we held a meeting with the participation of women, in Ankara. The last meeting of the series was held in Antalya. There, I saw it with my own eyes: The people discussed any issue you can think of maturely, even if they were irritated. This was also the case a
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Dentists as Green Shoots
Güven Sak, PhD
10 March 2012
Unemployment levels and jobless claims are declining, everything seems fine, but it is hard to shake the lingering feel of uncertainty. It was first mentioned on CNBC’s morning show at the beginning of March. Kelly Evans, the Wall Street reporter, was talking about the positive signs in the U.S. labor market. It is a strange time for the U.S. economy.
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The 4+4+4 formula is unfair
Güven Sak, PhD
09 March 2012
Studies suggest that designing an education system that classifies children at an age and on the basis of their success is unfair. Germany’s 4+6+2 formula for compulsory education system was unfair. This is why they have been introducing a series of amendments to the system since 2000. Similarly, the 4+4+4 formula of Turkey will be unfair. The education system of a country should not condemn the children of poor parents to being poor as well. This is what Germany’s system did. Let’s say it out loud: studies suggest that designing an education system that classifies children at an early age and on the basis of their success is unfair. Besides, it harms the equal opportunity principle. This is how we must read the education reforms Germany has been introducing since 2000. I believe that the
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