Browsing by Subject "democracy"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4

Open Access
The changing nature of Islamism in Turkey : a comparison of Erbakan and Erdoğan
(2002) İmişiker, Zeyneb Çağlıyan
The present study discusses the impact of the general change with the rise of new tendencies in Turkish politics on Islamist groups. The main purpose in writing this thesis is that of investigating the differences and similarities between two banned politicians, Necmettin Erbakan and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, concerning their views on secularism and Islam-democracy relationship in Turkey. It is basically argued that the differences seem to be greater than the similarities if their current discourses are carefully analyzed. Erdoğan realized that change is inevitable. As a consequence, his discourse has gone through a consistent change. In contrast, Erbakan did nothing but has given an image that his views are erratic. It is obvious that political Islam has been on the wane in Turkish politics. A new formation that praises democracy and secularism seems to get the chance to give a new direction to the so-called Islamist movement in Turkey.
Open Access
The peculiarities of Turkish revolutionary ideology in the 1930s : the Ülkü version of Kemalism, 1933-1936
(2003) Aydın, Ertan
This dissertation analyzes a specific version of Turkish revolutionary ideology in the 1930s, the ‹lk¸ version of Kemalism by means of textual interpretation of ‹lk¸, the official journal of the Peopleís Houses, between February 1933 and August 1936. The ‹lk¸ journal was published by a particular faction of the Kemalists, the ‹lk¸ group, who competed with ìconservative modernistî Kemalism and Kadrocu Kemalism for political and intellectual supremacy within the regime. ‹lk¸ eliteís solidarist, radical secularist, and anti-liberal alternatives to the state power enabled them to present a more appealing version of Kemalism for the context of the 1930s, which was the most authoritarian and radical phase of the Turkish Republic. This study employs new methodological perspective for understanding the nature of Kemalist ideology, which would provide a key to understand the temporal and flexible nature of Kemalism. In fact, this is part and parcel of a general approach to revolutions that highlights ìpolitics,î ìpolitical language,î and ìsymbolic politicsî as the basic unit of analysis. When the Turkish ruling elite encountered an ideological crisis owing to the world economic depression and the failed Free Party experience, prominent figures of ‹lk¸ attempted to form the content of the revolutionary ideology by way of employing solidarist ideological assumptions. Solidarism became an important means to establish secular, rational and social foundations of ethics as a substitute for religion, which was said to prepare the Turkish society to meet requirements of ìdemocracyî. The solidarist line of argumentation not only created tension between democracy and secularism but also provided justification for postponing democracy to an uncertain stage of time when the democratic eligibility of the people would be proven by the ìtrueî representatives of the national will (milli irade). ‹lk¸ís solidarism gave way to an understanding of democracy that was truly embedded, if not confined to, in the restrictions of a peculiar consideration of morality which the ‹lk¸ elite called ìrevolutionary ethicsî (inkılap ahlakiyatı) or ìsecular moralityî (laik ahlak).
Open Access
Presidents, the state and "democracy" in Turkey the ideas and praxis of Süleyman Demirel
(2010) İçener, Zeyneb Çağlıyan
This study aims to analyze the “statist” role that a president in the Turkish parliamentary system may play in maintaining a viable democracy, drawing on Giovanni Sartori’s bidimensional democracy theory and Alan Siaroff’s classification based on assessments of the nature of presidents. This study firstly discusses how under certain circumstances presidents come to have more powers in Turkey. It is argued that with the 1982 Constitution the president may assume a “corrective” role, despite lacking the legitimacy of popular elections, through benefiting from the vagueness of Article 104 of the Constitution. Unlike counterparts in some other parliamentary systems, the president in Turkey is not a symbolic and passive political actor but enjoys extensive powers. Focusing on the presidential term of Süleyman Demirel, this study secondly discusses how the president’s interpretations of his power and the way he puts this into practice may have had an impact on the maintenance of a viable democracy. The study suggests that Demirel developed a political line that prioritizes the effective functioning of the state, which he sees as indispensable for democracy. This explains the incentive behind Demirel’s active role as the president in protecting the political fabric of the state, which for him is directly linked with preserving the democratic nature of the regime. Despite coming from the circles of political elites, Demirel was able to set up a dialogue with the state elites when he was president, and thus was moderately successful in achieving a balance in the chronically troubled relationship between the state elites and the political elites.
Open Access
Reflections upon contemporary Turkish democracy : a Rawlsian perspective
(2009) Yıldız, Necip
In this dissertation, John Rawls’ ‘justice as fairness’ is applied to contemporary Turkey and used as a framework to reflect upon democratization process in Turkey. In order to substantiate how Rawls’ political liberalism and justice as fairness are related to democratization process in general, and to Turkish democratization in particular, first, the possible relations between Rawls’ conceptualization of ‘constitutional consensus,’ ‘overlapping consensus,’ and the basic concepts in the democratization literature are analyzed. It is argued that the initial stage of ‘constitutional consensus’ on democratic procedures (being only a modus vivendi) corresponds to ‘democratic transition.’ On the other hand, it is argued that the finalized stage of constitutional consensus corresponds to ‘minimalist’ and ‘negative’ democratic consolidation. Finally, it is claimed that ‘overlapping consensus’ corresponds to ‘maximalist’ and ‘positive’ democratic consolidation. When we apply these concepts to the Turkish case, it is seen that Turkey displays certain attitudinal and behavioral deficiencies in terms of meeting all the conditions of a ‘constitutional consensus’ by which democratic procedures would supposedly be secured; however, it is also argued that Turkey is moving closer to a ‘constitutional consensus’ as the major groups in Turkey gradually adhere to these procedures. In this regard, Turkey is depicted as a ‘borderline’ case in terms of meeting the conditions of a ‘constitutional consensus,’ which is also supported by Turkey’s recent Freedom House ratings that denote a borderline situation. With respect to the possibility of forming an ‘overlapping consensus’ in the longer run in Turkey, four major issues are addressed in the study: basic rights and liberties, social justice, secularism, and the Kurdish issue. Rawls’ veil of ignorance and two principles of justice are applied to these four issues, and their implications are discussed. It is argued that equality, reciprocity, and the use of public reason would be crucial in terms of forming an overlapping consensus on these issues. Another central issue discussed in the dissertation is the issue of socio-economic modernization that is taken for granted in Rawls’ writings, and Turkey’s opportunities for consolidating its democracy in the coming years with reference to socio-economic modernization. Based on the empirical findings of modernization theory, it is argued that Turkey’s rising income and human development levels might serve to facilitate democratic development in Turkey. It is claimed that higher levels of socio-economic development, possibly enhanced by Turkey’s EU-based reforms, might create a more conducive environment for further democratic reforms, as a result of which Rawls’ peculiar political liberalism could become gradually more applicable and more likely to be realized in Turkey. It is also argued that a more just distribution of income and wealth, which might possibly be realized through a ‘property-owning democracy,’ would be more conducive to democratic consolidation in Turkey.