Goodbye Kemalism! Turkey Plans Constitutional Reform Granting Prime Minister Unrivalled Power
THE TELEGRAPH: Turkey is preparing to hold a referendum next month on key constitutional changes that will grant its Islamist prime minister unrivalled power in a country traditionally dominated by the military.

Parliament finished a debate Thursday on the constitutional package, which marks the culmination of a seven year drive by Recep Tayyip Erdogan. the prime minister, to make the democratically elected government Turkey's most powerful institution.

Mr Erdogan used his AK Party's majority to pass a set of 27 amendments over the opposition of the country's minority parties. Antagonism between the factions escalated during the debate and three politicians, including the Trade Minister and a Kurdish leader, suffered facial injuries in attacks.

President Abdullah Gul is expected to trigger the referendum within two weeks.

Analysts said that the era of untrammelled military power and extensive interference in the political system by the judiciary would be consigned to the past by the vote. >>> Damien McElroy in Istanbul | Thursday, April 29, 2010

Summit Shows Times Have Changed
BBC: The G20 summit in Washington was a striking event first of all for who was there.

Global economic meetings used to mean the G7 and then the G8.

It was a rich-country affair with Russia invited in during in the 1990s - but that was to tackle international political issues, not for the sake of a contribution to the economic discussions.

How times have changed. A global economic problem needed a presence from developing country leaders.

The G20 was already up and running as a forum for finance ministers with the big developing economies as members - China, India, Russia, Brazil, Saudi Arabia and others.

And so they came to Washington, as countries hit by the developed world's financial crisis and, in some cases, as countries that might be able to help fix it.

Co-ordinated response

The communique issued after the summit is not on its own going to change the world.

The political machinery of the global economy is not going to be turned upside down, although those big developing countries at the summit are beginning to get a tentative grip on the levers. >>> By Andrew Walker, BBC News, Washington | November 16, 2008

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback – USA)
The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Hardcover – USA)