Heper, MetinRubin, B.Heper, Metin2019-05-162019-05-1620029780714652740http://hdl.handle.net/11693/51316Chapter 9Democratization is attaining greater political participation. The consolidation of democracy is democracy becoming "the only game in town." The preceding contributions indicate that in recent years Turkey has made good progress in preparing the ground for consolidating its democracy. On the other hand, the country's success in democratizing its political regime has been less than adequate. It may sound paradoxical, but at least in the case of some political parties inadequate democratisation seems to have been functional for the progress Turkey has registered towards the consolidation of its democracy The first prerequisite for the consolidation of democracy is a consensus among the members of the political class on the rules of democracyfreedom of expression, absence of restrictions on political participation, free and fair elections, and the like. Second, there must be national unity; political actors must act in unison when democracy faces a critical threat. For them to act in such a manner there would be need for trust and harmony among political actors.EnglishBook Chapter10.4324/97813150392069781315039206