Güven Sak, PhD
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What Gaza needs
I first visited Gaza in 2003, which was only 10 years after the Oslo Accord. The late Ariel Sharon was either about to, or had newly announced his plans for Israel’s…
Don’t lose sight of the forest for the trees
I was in Washington, DC this week. Having attended multiple panels on the region, I heard so many negative things about the current state of affairs in Turkey.…
A more unconventional monetary policy in Turkey?
When developing Asia was in crisis in the 1990s, the world valiantly upheld monetary orthodoxy. Then Europe went into crisis in 2008, world leaders came up with…
Turkey is losing hope
Nobody in Turkey talks about the 2023 targets anymore. Remember the days when Turkey had an ambitious, but doable plan? I do. I had much to criticize back then, but at…
Turks are unwell
There is a famous dialogue in Mike Nichols’ 1967 film, The Graduate. It is a film about a young college graduate who has an affair with the older Mrs. Robinson, who is…
Bad news for illiberals in Turkey
Can Turkey turn into a little Russia? That is what businesspeople ask me these days. They see the current government not for what it is, but what it is not: liberal. And…
Can Turkey make Europe more effective?
In a recent Financial Times article, Wolfgang Münchau claimed that today’s refugee crisis posed a greater threat to the EU’s future than the euro area debates ever did.…
The little China on Turkey’s doorstep
I was in Tehran recently on a day trip. There was a fresh feeling in the air, a kind of happiness that bubbles over and makes you anxious. It’s as if Iran is about to…
Which is more significant, Brexit or the migration crisis?
A spectre is haunting Europe, once again nowadays - the spectre of who is calling the shots in the old continent. The epic struggle between European capitals and…
Why Turkey needs the constitutional commission
The Interparty Parliamentary Panel tasked with drafting a new constitution, also known as the “Constitutional Commission,” lasted only three sessions. “This commission…
Get ‘Gershad’ to dodge the morality police in Iran
I was overjoyed the other day to hear that Iranian youths have developed a mobile app that helps people dodge the patrols of Ershad, Iran’s morality police. The Ershad…
Policy reforms in Turkey and Iran
Today there are two types of countries in our region, the Middle East and North Africa. Within these two categories there are countries that are functioning market…