The history, geography, people and society, and government and politics of the REPUBLIC OF TURKEY.

1. TURKEY

2. TURKEY: BACKGROUND
 The modern Republic of Turkey was established in 1923,
from what remained of the defeated Ottoman Empire.
 Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (right) is credited as the father of
modern-day Turkey; he served as its first president until
his death in 1938.
 During his presidency – which oversaw a process of
Westernizing Turkey – the country assumed radical
social, legal, and political reforms.
 After a nearly three-decade period of one-party rule, an
attempt at multi-party politics resulted in the 1950 election
victory of the opposition Democratic Party and the
peaceful allocation of power.
 Since then, Turkish politics has experienced a growth in
political parties, but democracy has been disrupted by
periods of volatility and military coups (1960, 1971, 1980),
which in each instance in due course resulted in a return
of ceremonial political power to citizens.
 In 1997, the military again helped bring about the
dismissal – popularly dubbed a "post-modern coup" – of
the then Islamic-leaning government; a coup attempt was
made in July 2016 by a bloc of the Turkish Armed
Forces.

3. Changes to TURKEY’s borders under the
1923 TREATY OF LAUSANNE

4. TURKEY: BACKGROUND –
CONT.
 In 1974, Turkey intervened militarily in Cyprus to
avert a Greek occupation of the island; it has since
backed the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus,
and is the only country to recognize it.
 A separatist uprising that started in 1984 by the
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a U.S.-labelled
terrorist organization, has long captured the
awareness of Turkish security forces and killed
over 40,000 people.
 Even though the Turkish government and the PKK
held negotiations in 2013 with the objective of
ending the hostility, extreme fighting continued in
2015.
 Turkey joined the UN in 1945, followed by NATO
in 1952.
 In 1963, it became an associate member of the
then-European Community; in 2005, it commenced
accession discussions with the EU.
 Throughout the preceding decade, economic
reforms, together with some political reforms, have
played a role in a developing economy.
 Despite these achievements, economic growth has
slowed in recent years.

5. EU-TURKEY MEETING, BRUSSELS, 29
NOVEMBER 2015

6. TURKEY: BACKGROUND –
CONT.
 From 2015 and lasting through 2016, Turkey saw an increase
in terrorist violence, including major attacks in Ankara,
Istanbul, and throughout the mainly Kurdish southeast
province.
 On 15 July 2016, divisions of the Turkish Armed Forces
unsuccessfully attempted a coup after prevalent popular
fighting.
 More than 240 people were murdered and over 2,000
incapacitated when Turkish citizens took to the streets
unanimously to challenge the coup forces; the Turkish
government responded by detaining, suspending, or
discharging over 100,000 security personnel, journalists,
judges, academics, and civil servants due to their suspected
link to the attempted coup.
 The government charged supporters of an Islamic
international religious and social movement with allegedly
starting the failed coup and labels the supporters as terrorists.
 In the wake of the failed coup, the Turkish government
declared a State of Emergency in July 2016; it was extended
in July 2017 and again in October 2017, and remains ongoing.
 On 16 April 2017, a referendum on switching from a
parliamentary to a presidential system was held; 51% voted in
favor.
 The European Parliament voted to halt negotiations for
Turkey’s membership in the EU on the grounds of human
rights and rule of law concerns; as of 2017, in response to the
April referendum, Turkish accession talks have legally
ceased.

7. Turkish security gather beside a police station at the
scene of a bomb explosion in Istanbul, 6 January
2015

8. TURKEY: GEOGRAPHY
 Location: Southeastern Europe and Southwestern
Asia (the territory of Turkey west of the Bosporus
is geographically part of Europe), bordering the
Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and
bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean
Sea, between Greece and Syria
 Geographic coordinates: 39 00 N, 35 00 E
 Map references: Middle East
 Area:
 Total: 783,562 km
 Land: 769,632 km
 Water: 13,930 sq km
 Country comparison to the world: 38
 Area – comparative: slightly bigger than Texas
 Land boundaries (total=2,816 km): Armenia 311
km, Azerbaijan 17 km, Bulgaria 223 km, Georgia
273 km, Greece 192 km, Iran 534 km, Iraq 367 km,
Syria 899 km

9. TURKEY: PHYSICAL MAP

10. TURKEY: GEOGRAPHY – CONT.
 Coastline: 7,200 km
 Maritime claims:
 Territorial sea: six nautical miles in Aegean Sea; twelve nautical miles in Black Sea and
in Mediterranean Sea
 Exclusive economic zone: only in the Black Sea; to the naval border agreed to with the
former Soviet Union
 Climate: temperate; hot, dry summers with warm, wet winters; more bitter in inland
 Terrain: high central plateau (Anatolia); thin costal plain; numerous mountain ranges
 Elevation:
 Mean elevation: 1,132 m
 Elevation extremes: lowest point is Mediterranean Sea (0 m); highest point is Mount
Ararat (5,137 m)
 Natural resources: coal, iron ore, copper, chromium, antimony, mercury, gold, barite,
borate, celestite (strontium), emery, feldspar, limestone, magnesite, marble, perlite,
pumice, pyrites (sulfur), clay, arable land, hydropower

11. ALANYA, MEDITTERANEAN SEA

12. MOUNT ARARAT, view from Iğdır, Turkey

13. TURKEY: GEOGRAPHY – CONT.
 Land use:
 Agricultural land: 49.7% (arable land 26.7%; permanent crops 4%; permanent pasture 19%)
 Forest: 14.9%
 Other: 35.4% (2011 est.)
 Irrigated land: 52,150 sq km (2012)
 Population – distribution: the most thickly inhabited area is found around the
Bosporus in the northwest where 20% of the population lives in Istanbul; excluding
Ankara, urban centers remain small and dispersed throughout the interior of Anatolia;
an inclusive pattern of exterior development exists, mainly along the Aegean Sea coast
in the west, and the Tigris and Euphrates River systems in the southeast
 Natural hazards: dangerous earthquakes, particularly in northern Turkey, along an arc
spreading from the Sea of Marmara to Lake Van; landslides; flooding
 Volcanism: sparse volcanic activity; its three factually active volcanoes (Ararat, Nemrut
Dagi, and Tendurek Dagi) have not exploded since the nineteenth century or earlier

14. TURKEY: GEOGRAPHY – CONT.
 Environment – current issues: water pollution from discarding of substances and
cleaners; air pollution, primarily in urban areas; deforestation; concern for oil spills from
growing Bosporus ship commerce
 Environment – international agreements:
 Party to: Air Pollution, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution,
Wetlands
 Signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
 Geography – note: strategic location controlling the Turkish Straits (Bosporus, Sea of
Marmara, Dardanelles) that connect the Black and Aegean Seas; the 3% of Turkey’s
land north of the Straits lies in Europe and goes by the names of European Turkey,
Eastern Thrace, or Turkish Thrace; the 97% of the country’s land in Asia is referred to
as Anatolia; Mount Ararat, the traditional landing site of Noah's ark, is in the far eastern
portion of the country

15. TURKEY: PEOPLE AND SOCIETY
 Population: 80,845,215 (July 2017 est.) – country comparison to the world: 18
 Nationality:
 Noun: Turk(s)
 Adjective: Turkish
 Ethnic groups: Turkish 70-75%, Kurdish 19%, other minorities 7-12% (2016 est.)
 Languages: Turkish (official), Kurdish, other minority languages
 Religions: Muslim 99.8% (mainly Sunni), other 0.2% (mainly Christians and Jews)
 Age structure (2017 est.):
 0-14 years: 24.68% (male 10,209,284/female 9,745,057)
 15-24 years: 15.99% (male 6,601,471/female 6,324,277)
 25-54 years: 43.21% (male 17,691,703/female 17,243,428)
 55-64 years: 8.58% (male 3,448,232/female 3,492,199)
 65 years and over: 7.53% (male 2,712,323/female 3,377,241)

16. BLUE MOSQUE, ISTANBUL

17. BULGARIAN ST. STEPHEN CHURCH, ISTANBUL

18. GRAND SYNAGOGUE OF EDIRNE

19. TURKEY: GOVERNMENT
 Official name: Republic of Turkey (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti; etymology: “Land of the Turks”)
 Government type: Parliamentary republic
 Capital: Ankara
 Largest city: Istanbul
 Administrative divisions: Eighty-one provinces (iller, singular: ili): Adana, Adiyaman,
Afyonkarahisar, Agri, Aksaray, Amasya, Ankara, Antalya, Ardahan, Artvin, Aydin, Balikesir,
Bartin, Batman, Bayburt, Bilecik, Bingol, Bitlis, Bolu, Burdur, Bursa, Canakkale, Cankiri,
Corum, Denizli, Diyarbakir, Duzce, Edirne, Elazig, Erzincan, Erzurum, Eskisehir, Gaziantep,
Giresun, Gumushane, Hakkari, Hatay, Igdir, Isparta, Istanbul, Izmir (Smyrna),
Kahramanmaras, Karabuk, Karaman, Kars, Kastamonu, Kayseri, Kilis, Kirikkale, Kirklareli,
Kirsehir, Kocaeli, Konya, Kutahya, Malatya, Manisa, Mardin, Mersin, Mugla, Mus, Nevsehir,
Nigde, Ordu, Osmaniye, Rize, Sakarya, Samsun, Sanliurfa, Siirt, Sinop, Sirnak, Sivas,
Tekirdag, Tokat, Trabzon (Trebizond), Tunceli, Usak, Van, Yalova, Yozgat, Zonguldak
 Independence: 29 October 1923 (republic proclaimed as successor to the Ottoman Empire)
 National holiday: Republic Day, 29 October

20. TURKEY: GOVERNMENT –
CONT.
 Constitution: numerous in the past; current one was approved 9 November 1982
 Amendments proposed by written approval of at least one-third of Grand National Assembly
(GNA) members; adopting of draft amendments requires two debates in complete GNA session
and three-fifths majority vote of all GNA members; the president of the republic can appeal GNA
reconsideration of the amendment and, if readopted by two-thirds majority GNA vote, the president
may yield the amendment to a referendum; passage by referendum requires absolute majority
vote; revised numerous times, last in 2017 (2017)
 Legal system: civil law structure based on several European legal structures, remarkably the
Swiss civil code
 International law organization participation: has not offered an ICJ jurisdiction declaration;
non-party state to the ICCt
 Citizenship:
 Citizenship by birth: no
 Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent has to be a citizen of Turkey
 Dual citizenship recognized: yes, but prior government consent is required
 Residency requirement for naturalization: five years
 Suffrage: eighteen years of age; universal

21. TURKEY: GOVERNMENT –
CONT.
 Executive branch:
 Chief of state: President Recep
Tayyip Erdoğan (since 10 August 2014)
 Head of government: PM Binali
Yıldırım (since 22 May 2016); Deputy
PMs Nurettin Canikli (since 24 May
2016), Veysi Kaynak (since 24 May
2016), Mehmet Şimşek (since 24
November 2015), Tuğrul Türkeş
(since 29 August 2014), Numan
Kurtulmuş (since 29 August 2014)

22. Interior of the Turkish Parliament, June 2015

23. TURKEY: GOVERNMENT – CONT.
 International organization participation: ADB (nonregional member), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC,
CBSS (observer), CD, CE, CERN (observer), CICA, CPLP (associate observer), D-8, EAPC, EBRD,
ECO, EU (candidate country), FAO, FATF, G-20, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees),
ICRM, IDA, IDB, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO,
ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIC, OPCW, OSCE,
Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club (associate), PCA, PIF (partner), SCO (dialogue member),
SELEC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNRWA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU
(NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC
 Turkish ambassador to the U.S.: Serdar Kılıç (since 21 May 2014)
 U.S. ambassador to Turkey: vacant (Philip Kosnett is the current Charge d'Affairs since October
2017)
 Flag description: red with a perpendicular white curved moon (the closed portion is near the hoist
side) and white five-pointed star placed just outside the crescent opening; the flag colors and designs
directly bear a resemblance to those on the banner of the Ottoman Empire (which preceded modern-
day Turkey) and the flag of Tunisia (minus the sun-disc); the crescent moon and star serve as emblem
for Turkic peoples; according to one explanation, the flag denotes the reflection of the moon and a star
in a pool of blood of Turkish soldiers
 National symbol(s): star and crescent; red and white are the national colors

24. TURKEY: GOVERNMENT –
CONT.
 National anthem: “İstiklâl Marşı” (Independence March)
 Lyrics: Mehmet Âkif Ersoy (1921)
 Music: Osman Zeki Üngör (1930) and Edgar Manas (1932)
 Note: the lyrics were adopted in 1921, the music was adopted in 1932; the anthem’s
original music was composed in 1924; a new arrangement was agreed to in 1932

25. TURKEY: ECONOMY
 Turkey's mostly free-market economy is driven by its manufacturing and, gradually, service
sectors, even though its customary cultivation sector still makes up roughly 25% of
employment.
 The locomotive, petrochemical, and electronics businesses have become more important and
exceeded the customary materials and clothing sectors within Turkey's export assortment.
 Conversely, the recent period of political stability and economic dynamism has given way to
domestic ambiguity and security apprehensions, which are causing financial market instability
and weighing on Turkey’s economic position.
 Current government policies highlight accessible spending procedures and credit breaks,
while enacting fundamental economic reforms has slowed.
 The government is more involved in some tactical sectors and has used economic institutions
and regulators to attack political opponents, weakening private sector trust in the judicial
system.
 Between July 2016 and March 2017, three credit ratings companies demoted Turkey’s
sovereign credit ratings and stated concerns about the rule of law, President Erdoğan’s
increasingly authoritarian rule, and the pace of economic reforms.

26. TURKEY: ECONOMY – CONT.
 Turkey still depends heavily on imported oil and gas, but
it is also taking up energy relationships with a larger set
of international partners and taking steps to escalate
use of domestic energy sources including renewables,
nuclear, and petroleum.
 The joint Turkish-Azerbaijani Trans-Anatolian Natural
Gas Pipeline (right) is moving forward to upsurge
transfer of Caspian gas to Turkey and Europe; upon
completion, it will help expand Turkey's sources of
imported gas.
 After Turkey underwent a difficult economic crisis in
2001, Ankara assumed financial and monetary reforms
as part of an IMF program.
 The reforms reinforced the country's economic basics
and signaled in a period of strong growth around more
than 6% yearly up to 2008.
 A hostile privatization program also diminished state
participation in basic industry, investment, transport,
power generation, and communication.
 Worldwide economic circumstances and tighter fiscal
policy caused GDP to shrink in 2009, but Turkey's well-
structured financial markets and banking system helped
the country survive the global financial crisis, and GDP
growth recovered to almost 9% in 2010 and 2011, as
exports and investment recuperated after the crisis.

27. TURKEY: ECONOMY – CONT.
 Since 2014, production and growth has decelerated to disclose insistent principal
disproportions in the Turkish economy.
 Specifically, Turkey’s modest domestic investments and large current account insufficiency
means it must be dependent on outside stock influxes to support growth, leaving the
economy at risk for weakening changes in shareholder assurance.
 The economy declined in the third quarter of 2016 for the first time since 2009, partly as a
result of a severe waning in the tourism sector; growth is expected to stay under capacity in
2017.
 Other worrying inclinations include growing unemployment and rising inflation, which is
predicted to only intensify in 2017 as a result of the Turkish lira’s recent devaluation against
the dollar.
 While government debt remains low at roughly 32% of GDP, bank and commercial borrowing
has nearly tripled as a percent of GDP during the preceding decade, outperforming its
developing-market associates and encouraging investor concerns about its lasting
sustainability.

28. TURKEY: FREEDOM HOUSE RATING
 Freedom status: Partly Free
 Aggregate Score: 38/100 (0=Least
Free, 100=Most Free)
 Freedom Rating: 4.5/7
 Political Rights: 4/7
 Civil Liberties: 5/7 (1=Most Free,
7=Least Free)
 Press Freedom Status: Not Free
 Net Freedom Status: Not Free
 Turkey’s political rights rating dropped from 3 to 4, its
civil liberties rating dropped from 4 to 5, and it
received a plunging trend arrow due to the security
and political aftermaths of the failed coup in July
2017, which led the government to declare a state of
emergency and carry out widespread arrests and
dismissals of civil servants, academics, journalists,
opposition figures, and other alleged adversaries.
 Although the prime minister customarily held most
executive authority, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been
in control of the government since his election as
president in 2014.
 His party, the Justice and Development Party (AKP)
has been the governing party since 2002.
 After originally passing some loosening reforms, the
government has shown little respect for political
rights and civil liberties, particularly during the past
five years.
 Some issues include minority rights, free expression,
associational rights, corruption, and the rule of law.

29. REFERENCES
 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-
factbook/geos/tu.html
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_constitutional
_referendum,_2017
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C4%B0stikl%C3%A
2l_Mar%C5%9F%C4%B1
 https://freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-
world/2017/turkey