Turn? Series

An IBGC Conference Series

Schedule

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Welcoming Remarks: with Bhaskar Chakravorti, Senior Associate Dean of International
Business and Finance, The Fletcher School, Tufts University

 Opening Remarks: Burak Kararti, Turkish Consul General to Boston

 Panel: “A Grand Tour”

Turkey just had its national municipal elections that were more like a referendum or a general election. the stakes were high and these elections were the beginning of an electoral cycle that will end with the general elections for the Turkish Parliament in June of 2015, unless they are held earlier. This panel will analyse the context and the outcome of these elections. we will present the political and the sociological meaning of the vote, will decipher the choices of the electorate, discuss the repercussions of this election for Turkey’s perennial Kurdish problem and analyse its impact on Turkish-American relations.

  Chair:

  •  Soli Ozel, Professor of International Relations and Political Science,
    Istanbul Kadir Has University

   Panelists:

  • Murat Guvenc, Director, Urban Studies Research Center, Istanbul Sehir University
  • Ambassador James H. Holmes (Ret.), President and CEO, American-Turkish Council 
  • Cenk Sidar, CEO and President, Sidar Global Advisors
  • Gunes Murat Tezcur, Associate Professor of Political Science, Loyola University Chicago
  • Pinar K. Tremblay, Lecturer, Political Science Department, Cal Poly Pomona

Keynote Speaker:

  • Ibrahim Turhan, Chairman and CEO of Borsa Istanbul

Panel: “Geopolitical Landscape”

In line with the conference theme of “Turkey’s Turn?” this panel will focus on whether Turkey is now ready to project its dynamism and influence abroad. It will explore the precise nature such projection is likely to take, building on the foreign policy implications of recent domestic developments in Turkey, in the context of Turkish-American relations, and with a particular focus on the geopolitical arenas at the intersection of which Turkey stands: Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia, and the Middle East.

Chairs:

  • Malik Mufti, Professor and Chair, Political Sciences, Tufts University
  • Zeynep Bulutgil, Assistant Professor, The Fletcher School, Tufts University

  Panelists:

  • Steven A. Cook, Hasib J. Sabbagh Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
  • Kemal Kirisci, Director, Center on the United States and Europe’s Turkey Project, Brookings Institution
  • Kadir Ustun, Research Director, SETA Foundation

Panel: “At the Energy Crossroads: Turkey’s Pipeline Diplomacy”

This panel focuses on the question of whether energy factors will either enhance or impede Turkey’s ability to consolidate its role as a regional and, perhaps, global geostrategic actor.  The panel will explore Turkey’s energy strategy in terms of domestic political-economic developments, while also considering the implications for Turkey of energy security issues associated with critical developments in the Eurasian security environment.

Chair: Fletcher D-Prize Poverty Solutions Venture Award

  • Elizabeth Prodromou, Visiting Associate Professor of Conflict Resolution, The Fletcher School

Panelists:

  • Nusret Comert, Senior Advanced Leadership Fellow, Harvard University,
    and Chairman, DAMNUS Energy & Investment
  • Mehmet Ogutcu, Chairman, Global Resources Corporation
  • Joshua Walker, Director of Global Programs, APCO Worldwide

“Turkey’s Turn” Essay Contest Award

Featured Speaker:

  • Admiral James Stavridis, USN, Dean, The Fletcher School

Fletcher D-Prize Poverty Solutions Venture Award

Wine and Cheese Reception
Turkish Folklore Music by
Onur Ertür, Tenor, Istanbul State Opera and Tunus Concert & Theater Agency

Friday, April 11, 2014

 Opening Remarks: with Bhaskar Chakravorti, Senior Associate Dean of International
Business and Finance, The Fletcher School, Tufts University

Panel: “Turkey as a Regional Business Center”

The panel will explore Turkey’s role as a hub for private enterprise in its region. It will discuss the pros and cons of investing in Turkey particularly for US companies. It will also look at why Turkish companies have been so successful over the past decade compared to other developed and emerging market countries.

Chair:

  • Arthur Sculley, Senior Fellow, Council on Emerging Market Enterprises, The Fletcher School

Panelists:

  • Solen Altop, Business Advisor, Yatas Furniture Company, Kayseri, and Founder, Solen Global Coaching
  • ISPAT
  • John McCarthy, Chairman, ING Bank, Istanbul

Keynote Speaker:

  • Daron Acemoglu, Elizabeth and James Killian Professor of Economics, MIT, and co-author of Why Nations Fail

  Followed by:

  • Q&A with Bhaskar Chakravorti, Senior Associate Dean of International Business and Finance, The Fletcher School, Tufts University

Conversation with Ambassador Francis Ricciardone

 Hosted by:

  • Alexander Christie-Miller, Correspondent in Istanbul for The Christian Science Monitor

 Fireside Chat: “The State of Human Capital: Turkey’s Intellectual Contributions”

  •  Professor Haluk Unal, Professor of Finance, University of Maryland, President, Turkish American Scientists and Scholars Association (TASSA)

  Hosted by:

  • Bhaskar Chakravorti, Senior Associate Dean of International
    Business and Finance, The Fletcher School, Tufts University

Panel: “Turkey’s Role in the Changing Financial World”

For over a decade, Turkish banks and capital markets experienced remarkable growth. The sustainability of this growth is today in question as Turkish finance faces multiple challenges, ranging from political and macroeconomic instability to global disaffection towards emerging markets. The panel will discuss Turkish finance from domestic, regional and international perspectives.

Chair:

  • Ibrahim Warde, Professor of Islamic Finance, The Fletcher School, Tufts University

Panelists:

  • Zamir Iqbal, Head, World Bank Global Center for Islamic Finance, Istanbul
  • John McCarthy, Chairman, ING Bank, Istanbul
  • Neslihan Tombul, Board Member, Turcas Petrol A.S., Istanbul
  • Ibrahim Turhan, Chairman and CEO of Borsa Istanbul

Closing Remarks: Bhaskar Chakravorti, Senior Associate Dean of International
Business and Finance, The Fletcher School, Tufts University