Turkey perhaps represents the most striking example of the transformations currently occurring in the Mediterranean basin. Geographically and culturally positioned as a bridge between East and West, it has always looked westward, particularly in its quest for a modernity not devoid of contradictions. Among these is a certain marginalization of Eastern elements, which have their roots in the Ottoman past and the religious and cultural identity of the country. Now, those aspects of Turkey are re-emerging as a vital element in society. An attempt to recover what has been removed until now has found its most manifest expression in the political rise of the Islamic party, the AKP. Are we witnessing an effort to integrate and perhaps surpass the traditional categories of East and West?
In collaboration with the Balkans and Caucasus Observatory.
