Turkish Business Strengths and Weaknesses

From International Business Wiki

Turkey Strengths and Weakness: Geography, Religion, and Culture

The Republic of Turkey, founded in 1923, arose from portions of the defunct Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire interacted with both eastern and western cultures through out its 623 year history. During the decades following World War I and World War II, many internal changes have led the Turkish People to becoming a developed nation with a modernized military. Among those changes, women were given equal rights, and state and religion were kept separate.

Turkey stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in southwest Asia and the Balkan region of southeastern Europe. Turkey borders eight countries: Bulgaria to the northwest, Greece to the west, Georgia to the northeast, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Iran to the east, Iraq and Syria to the southeast. Because of Turkey’s unique location, culture, trade and size, it has been home to the rise of many civilizations prior to the founding of The Republic of Turkey.

There is a strong tradition of secularism in Turkey. Although the state has no official religion, it closely monitors the areas between religion. No party running for office can claim that it represents any religious belief. Religious head covering is banned in all government, university, and school buildings

Although Turkey has ties with its surrounding countries, as well as relationships with Western and European countries, Turkey’s boarders and location makes it susceptible to other countries political and military affairs. The Kurds, the largest non-Turk ethnicity located mainly in the southeaster part of the country, which are not considered one of the country’s 3 minorities (Greeks, Armenians and Jews), have struggled for land, identity, and survival. Conflicts between the Turks and the Kurds have led to suppression of rights, education, and citizenship of the Kurds and have brought death to both sides.

As of recently, the population of Turkey stood 73 million with a growth rate of 1.5% per year. According to statistics, the life expectancy stands 68.9 for men and 73.8 for women with a combined average of 71.3 years. Education is compulsory, and free from ages 6 to 15. The literacy rate for men is 95.3 and 79.6 for women. This low figure is due mainly to attitudes against women in Arab, Kurdish influenced areas of the country.

Many of the non-Turk peoples located in the Arab, Kurdish areas of the country, mostly in the south east, are not given the special group privileges given to the recognized 3 minority groups. The Turkish people do not include ethnicities other then the main Turkish population and the country’s considered minorities in their census.

Today, internal strife’s among Secularists and Islamic traditionalists invade the states political affairs. The military, which has intervened 3 times within the last generation claims the next president must be a follower of the established secular order. Many fear that this might affect Turkey’s acceptance into the European Union. Through it all, Turkey has been a great example of how secularism and Islam can work in an area dominated by tradition, and religion.