Issue 75 · Autumn 2015

Dear Readers,

The 75th issue of our journal, which scientifically explores the cultural richess and current and historical issues of the Turkish world in articles of Turcology ranging from literature to history and sociology to international relations, is coming out with the signature of a new editor. I have been appointed as the new editor-in-chief by the Board of Trustees of Ahmet Yesevi University, taking the task over from Prof. Dr. Nurettin Demir, who has successfully served as editor-in-chief for the past nine years. The experience I have gained as member of bilig’s Editorial Board and the valuable contributions that will be made by all of you distinguished scholars will help me not only to preserve the journal’s tradition but also to make some transformations and raise its academic quality. I would like to forward my thanks to Prof. Dr. Nurettin Demir for all his efforts in making the journal what it is today and to Prof. Dr. Musa Yıldız, the Head of the Board of Trustees, for trusting me with this honourable post.

The 75 issues of bilig that have been published so far have made significant contributions to the social sciences. Many scientists primarily from Turkey and the Turkic Republics have made their work known and reached out to scientific circles through the articles they have published in bilig. bilig is a basic source of reference especially for scholars working in the area of Turcology. In order to sustain and strengthen this quality of the journal, we are expecting new original submissions that foreground the common values and explore the current issues of the Turkish world while making worthwhile contributions to the field.

bilig accepts academic articles that explore the history, language, literature as well as the social, cultural, economic and political issues of the Turkish world. All submissions are sent for peer review once they are evaluated by the Editorial Board. Publication decisions are made based on the referee reports. This issue’s articles in literature, philology, anthropology, ethnology, communication, political science, finance and international relations have also been published as a result of the same editorial procedures. In the coming issues we aim to increase this variety further though publishing a greater number of comparative studies with inter- and multi-disciplinary perspectives. We expect all the articles in bilig, which is an academic publication of Ahmet Yesevi University founded with the ideal of building a bright common future for Turkey and Kazakhstan, to help Turkish communities to know each other better, to sustain our rich cultural heritage, to spread the common values of the Turkish world, and to provide scientific information for the integration of the Turkish world. 2016 will be the 25th anniversary of the independence of the Turkic Republics. 2016 is also the 850th anniversary of the death of Ahmet Yesevi. For this purpose the Board of Trustees of Ahmet Yesevi University is planning to arrange activities that will have a worldwide influence. As the Editorial Board of bilig, we will also give priority to these issues in selecting articles and content for publication.

I wish all of us a successful and fruitful period of work, in full belief that bilig, which is a mark of merit for the Board of Trustees of Ahmet Yesevi University, will continue to be a source of pride for the Turkish World with articles displaying the wide knowledge and reflection of you distinguished scholars.

Yours sincerely,

Prof.Dr.Fırat PURTAŞ