Turkey 2023

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been a central figure in Turkish political life since 1994, when he became mayor of Istanbul before presiding over Turkey's destiny as Prime Minister from 2003 and then as President of the Republic from 2014, re-elected with increased powers in 2018 following the reform of the Constitution presidentialising the regime. He often mentions the great dates in Turkish and Ottoman history, some of which are evoked for the achievement of future political or economic goals. Thus, in the new national discourse or narrative, epics of the Turkish nation are often mentioned, such as 1453, the date of the conquest of Constantinople, but also 1072, the date of the Battle of Manzikert which marked the entry of the Turks into Anatolia with the conquest of the Seljuks.

But if there is one important year and jubilee that research on contemporary Turkey must observe with precision, it is 2023, which marks the centenary of the founding of the Republic of Turkey by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. This year 2023 is crucial as it will be a major election year with the one of the largest elections in the country's history - the presidential and parliamentary elections in June - to be followed by the celebration of the centenary of the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey in October. 

Indeed, already the holder of a historical record in terms of political longevity with more than twenty years in power, if President Erdoğan is a candidate and is re-elected, this will inaugurate a third term that would see him lead the country for more than 25 years. The record of the governing AKP party and, more broadly, the centenary of the Republic of Turkey, as well as the prospects for the country's domestic, regional and international development, will be the focus of attention during 2023, which will be marked by an international scholarly and editorial ferment  on Turkey. Therefore, the importance of this date, but especially the role that Turkey plays internationally (in the Middle East, in the Caucasus, in the Eastern Mediterranean, in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and even in Africa), convince us of the need to set up our research programme Turkey 2023 at CERI.

This programme has several objectives: to better understand Turkey's internal changes, its links with the countries around it, its role on the international scene and, more particularly, the role it intends to play in relations between its traditional Western allies - the United States and, more broadly, NATO and the member states of the European Union - and Russia, with which it has developed a rapprochement in the form of a multi-dimensional partnership, despite the divergences between the two powers on many regional issues. 

Within the framework of this programme, and in order to achieve the objectives, several activities are planned:

- The organisation of several conferences and panels, as well as an international colloquium;
- The publication of mini analyses (policy papers, notes, studies and reports) on the CERI website;
- The publication of a collective work in English in the CERI Palgrave collection (co-edited by Bayram Balci and Nicolas Monceau) and the organisation of an international colloquium when it is published.

Through the planned activities, this research programme will mobilise CERI researchers specialised in the region (Turkey, the Arab world, Russia, the Caucasus, Europe) as well as the main researchers in France and internationally interested in these regions. 

Picture: Photographs of Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Mustafa Kemal Ataturk on a building in Istanbul, 2014, @ Alexandros Michailidis for Shutterstock