foreign policy roundup:”Turkey too rich to get EU aid”, Turkish approaches to French presidential candidates, Turkish soap operas as diplomacy tools……

Turkey too rich to get EU aid: Report British lawmakers called for tougher standards on the distribution of Europe?s development aid budget after a report released on April 27 revealed more than half went to ?middle-income? countrie Turkey has been one of the top five recipients of European Commission aid, the report says from turkey … Read more

Turkey’s new education system plans looks like AKP’s another attempt of social engineering… A social fabric roundup

Religious Education and 4+4+4 from Turkish Politics in Action by Ragan Updegraff PHOTO from Birgun Fast approaching the anniversary of the Feb. 28 process, or the 1997 “postmodern coup” that brought about the fall of the Islamist Refah government and a slate of reforms to defend secularism against what was perceived by some as the … Read more

“Electronic Literature Collection” and more…

Electronic Literature Collection, Vol. 2 from Transliteracy Research Group by Christine Wilks   The Electronic Literature Collection, Volume 2, recently launched on the web, is an anthology of works by an international group of authors “that pushes through the boundaries of literary forms, creating new kinds of experiences for interacting readers.” Published by the Electronic … Read more

FP focuses on Turkey’s unexpected foreign policy tool: soap operas (!)

and a roundup (with a focus on Cyprus elections)

Leave it to Turkish soap operas to conquer hearts and minds

Who said that capturing hearts and minds in the Muslim world is mission impossible? It’s just that the United States hasn’t figured out the right way to do it. Sometimes, it seems the U.S. government still thinks that public diplomacy is exchange students and a few diplomats who can speak Arabic and struggle on satellite television in the region to explain U.S. foreign policy.

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