TESEV Foreign Policy Program

International Workshop: How Common is the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the EU? Where does Turkey fit in? - Vienna, 19 March 2008

The workshop organized jointly by TESEV Foreign Policy Program and the Austrian International Relations Institute(OIIP) emphasized the current situation in Turkey-EU relations. The workshop started with the presentations by Sabiha Senyücel from TESEV and Paul Luif from OIIP on the convergence of Turkey's and EU's Common Foreign and Security Policies.

During the workshop, TESEV Foreign Policy Program Director Mensur Akgün, Turkish Ambassador to Vienna Selim Yenel and Head of Division of South Eastern Europe in the Federal Ministry of International and European Union Affairs in Austria also shared their views on the subject.

Meeting Report
Media Coverage

TESEV Foreign Policy Program

Project Meeting – March 15th 2008, Amman

TESEV initiated a feasibility study for a Gender Institute that will carry out activities on issues pertaining to gender in the Middle East and North Africa. The idea for this Institute originated from the civil society symposia organized by TESEV within the framework of the Democracy Assistance Dialogue in 2005 and 2006. The idea was then endorsed by official representatives at the intergovernmental conferences organized in Ankara and Sana’a in May and June 2006 respectively.

The final feasibility report is expected to come out with contributions from regional experts at the end of 2008.

TESEV Foreign Policy Program
Round Table Meeting: Latest Developments and Future Prospects in Cyprus

TESEV Foreign Policy Program organized a round table meeting on 15th of February, Friday with the participation of the President of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Mehmet Ali Talat where the latest developments and future prospects in Cyprus were discussed with journalists and academicians.

NEW TESEV PUBLICATION:

TESEV Foreign Policy Program

International Conference: “The New Turkish Dynamic: What Impact on the EU-Turkey Relations?” - Paris, 7 December 2007

Conference Program

TESEV Foreign Policy Program

Finding Common Grounds
19-20 November, Istanbul

TESEV Foreign Policy Program

II. Turkish-German Civil Society Forum: Common Expectations in EU-Turkey Relations - 10 November 2007

The forum, organized jointly by TESEV, Konrad Adenauer Stiftung , and Istanbul Kültür University , emphasized the current situation of Turkey-EU relations and the reform process within the EU. During the meeting, the participants underlined common interests and expectations regarding the Black Sea region, the Middle East, Balkans, Caucasus, and Russia .

INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE

A GLOBAL CHALLENGE: PROVIDING SECURITY AND PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS

October  23rd ,   2007
Elite Hotel , Istanbul , Turkey

Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) will hold an international conference in Istanbul entitled “A Global Challenge: Providing Security and Protecting Human Rights” on 23 October 2007.

Conference Program
Press Release

TESEV Foreign Policy Program

Legal aspects of stalemate in Cyprus in the light of the Republic of Cyprus' EU membership

Meeting Series

14-17th October

Between 14th and 17th of October, TESEV Foreign Policy Program organized a series of meetings at the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus within the framework of the “Legal Aspects of the Accession of the Republic of Cyprus to the European Union” project. The project aims to produce a legal evaluation of the several problems on the island including isolation, representation and recognition problem of the TRNC that occurred as a result of the accession of the Republic of Cyprus to the European Union.

In this respect a series of meetings were conducted with politicians, academicians and NGO representatives including the former President Rauf Denktas, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Turgay Avci, the former Minister of Foreign Affairs Serdar Denktas, the President of the Chamber of Commerce Erdil Nami and the member of the Parliament Özdil Nami. TESEV delegation comprised of legal experts and researchers from the Hague and Brussels as well as TESEV in-house experts who will co-author the final study that will be published at the end of 2007.

CONFERENCE PAPERS

On 4-5 December 2006, an international conference titled “Internal Displacement in Turkey and Abroad: International Principles, Experiences and Policy Proposals” was held within the scope of TESEV Democratization Program's Internal Displacement and Social Rehabilitation Project. The papers submitted by the participants after the conference have been translated to English and Turkish and are published on TESEV's website.

To access the English-language papers click here
To access the Turkish-language papers click here

TESEV Foreign Policy Program

Bosphorus Conference IV: The EU and Turkey: Drifting Apart?

The Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV), the British Council and the Centre for European Reform (CER) are jointly organising the fourth Bosphorus Conference on EU-Turkey relations. This high-level, invitation-only conference will take place in Istanbul on 5–6 October 2007. Among the participants of our previous three highly acclaimed conferences were Abdullah Gül, Ali Babacan, Geoff Hoon, Peter Mandelson, Joost Lagendijk, Lord Hannay, Kemal Dervis, Joost Lagendijk MEP, Carl Bildt, Ahmet Davutoglu, Dominique Moïsi, Pavel Telicka, Andrew Duff and many others to discuss the politics and economics of Turkish accession.

Programme
Format and Topics
British Council
Centre for European Reform
Key Conclusions

TESEV Foreign Policy Program

Discussion of the Cyprus ' Property Issue
14 September 2007

On September 14 th , TESEV's Foreign Policy Program organized a closed workshop on the Property Issue in Cyprus under the auspices of the Swedish Research Institute in Istanbul, Turkey . With the participation of experts on the subject from Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Europe and Turkey the property issue were discussed with regards to historical background of the problem, recent developments and future prospects.

Meeting Report

TESEV Foreign Policy Program

Turkey-EU Relations: Mutual Impacts, Mutual Benefits
7 September 2007

On September 7 th , TESEV Foreign Policy Program organized a panel titled as “Turkey-EU Relations: Mutual Impacts, Mutual Benefits” as part of the 17 th Krynica Economic Forum in Krynica , Poland . Krynica Economic Forum is an annual event organized by the Eastern Institute in Poland with the participation of nearly 1500 politicians, businessmen, academicians and members of the NGOs from the member states of the EU as well as the representatives from EU's neighbouring countries.

By publishing the English edition of the book, TESEV hopes that the report will contribute to the debates over Turkey's practice of Islam, people's preferences to identify themselves, understanding of democracy and multi-culturalism in Turkey, and the political and sociological stance towards the headscarf controversy.
For full-text of the book:

NEW TESEV PUBLICATION:

“Coming to Terms with Forced Migration: Post Displacement Restitution of Citizenship Rights in Turkey ” - August 2007

Written by members of the TESEV Working and Monitoring Group on Internal Displacement in Turkey and initially published in Turkish in June 2006, the book examines internal displacement in Turkey through the lens of five different disciplines, compares it with other country examples, situates it in the international framework, and offers policy proposals. The Turkish edition of the book is based on a rigorous literature review on internal displacement in Turkey and elsewhere, as well as fieldwork in the provinces of Batman, Hakkâri, Istanbul and Diyarbakir . The English edition of the book has been updated in line with developments between June 2006 and August 2007. By publishing the English edition of the book, TESEV hopes to share with a wider audience its findings and to continue to raise awareness about the root causes of internal displacement and the plight of IDPs.

For full-text of the book:

TESEV Foreign Policy Program

Round Table Meeting: The Alliance of Civilizations
25 th June 2007, Istanbul

On 25 th June 2007, TESEV's Foreign Policy Program held a roundtable meeting about the “Alliance of Civilizations” with Special High Representative of the UN Secretary General for the Alliance of Civilizations, and Former Portuguese President, H.E. Jorge Sampaio's participation.

Meeting Report

TESEV Foreign Policy Program

International Workshop: The Empowerment of women: The Case of Algeria
20 June 2007, Alger

As part of TESEV's work on contributing to the dialogue on democratization in Middle Eastern and North African countries, a workshop was organized in Algiers in cooperation with CIDDEF (Centre d'Information et de Documentation sur les Droits de l'Enfant et de la Femme).

Meeting Report

TESEV Foreign Policy Program

“ International Expert Conference: Implementing a Two State Solution and Scenarios for Third Party Intervention in Israel/Palestine, 5-6 May 2007, Istanbul

Organized jointly by the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation, the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), and the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, the conference sought answers to the questions of whether and how third parties can and should play a role in the solution of the problem.

Meeting Report
Ambassador Shlomo Ben Ami's Speech

TESEV Foreign Policy Program

The English version of the IAI-Tesev Report  on "Turkey and European Security" has been published.

Turkey and European Security

TESEV organized a conference in Berlin on 9 February 2007, entitled “The German EU Presidency and the Prospect for Turkey-EU Relations”, in cooperation with the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). The meeting fell under TESEV's EU advocacy project.  

For more information please
click here