Since the establishment in 1945 of a constitutional democracy, political parties have figured prominently in Turkish politics. This book, first published in 1991, examines the role they have played. Key features of the political culture of the Turkish republic have created dilemmas for multi-party democracy: Atatürkism still exerts a powerful influence on the country’s bureaucratic and military elites. With their notion of ‘responsible leadership’ and of democracy as rational intellectual debate in pursuit of the ‘best’ policy, they have expected an unrealistic degree of idealism and statesmanlike behaviour from the leaders of political parties. Three times, in 1960, 1971 and 1980, the military has intervened in politics – on the third occasion to undertake wholesale constitutional and legal restructuring aimed at producing ‘sensible’ politicians. Given these ambiguous circumstances, what role have the political parties themselves played in the promotion and functioning of democracy in Turkey, and what are their attitudes to the issues involved? This collection of essays discusses political parties since the foundation of the Turkish Republic in 1923 until the 1990s. With contributions from leading political scientists and historians of modern Turkey, it is indispensable reading for all those concerned with the country.

This book explores the roots of the decline of democracy and the rise of hegemonic parties in Turkey, by comparing the Justice and Development Party (AKP) with other comparable cases throughout the world. Offering a novel analysis in the rise of hegemonic parties, this book incorporates the analysis of state-society relations and institutionalist approaches. A hegemonic party is a single political party that dominates the scene in multi-party elections for extended periods of time. Focusing on the cases of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Malaysia, Russia and other countries through the Middle East, Asia, Latin America, Africa and Europe, the book proves that hegemony building is possible through the combination of societal and institutional factors at the individual, local, and national levels. Multilingual comparative content analysis, rigorous statistical tests, and in-depth elite-level interviews support this theory, based on an extensive fieldwork analysis. Analysing contemporary as well as historical cases of hegemonic parties, the volume will be of interest to researchers and students in a broad range of areas including democratization, political parties and Turkish politics.

Since the founding of the modern Turkish republic in 1923, Turkey's political leaders have been decisive in shaping the development of their country's democratic patterns and processes. Beginning with Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Political Leaders and Democracy in Turkey analyzes the origins, political careers, beliefs, and policies of eleven of modern-day Turkey's most influential leaders. The chapters offer a unique perspective into the complex and fascinating world of Turkish political leadership and the transition to, and consolidation of, democracy. This crucial addition to Turkish studies and comparative politics is the first book to undertake a systematic study of the role political leaders have played in shaping the successes, as well as the shortcomings, of Turkey's grand democratic experiment.

Turkey's growing international profile, candidacy for the EU, and persistent democracy has led to a growing interest in how that country is governed. This book provides portraits of the seven main political parties by Turkish experts who are close observers of these institutions. In addition to providing an analytical survey of Turkish politics today, this volume also provides a fascinating case study on the problems of developing deep-rooted democracy, conflicts between state interests amd interest groups, and the evolution of party systems.

One of the most significant yet least known periods of modern Turkish history is that of Turkey's second president, İsmet İnönü. Following the death of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1938, Turkish politicians and intellectuals struggled to redefine Kemalist notions of modernity and democracy, Islam and secularization, the role of the state, and Turkey's place in the world. The Politics of Turkish Democracy examines İnönü's presidency (1938–1950), which developed amid the crises of World War II and the Cold War, global economic and political transformation, and economic and social change within Turkey. John M. VanderLippe analyzes the political discourse of the era and argues that İnönü was a pivotal figure who played the decisive role in Turkey's transition to a multi-party political system.

The study of politics in Turkey : new horizons and perennial pitfalls / Güneş Murat Tezcür -- Democratization theories and Turkey / Ekrem Karakoç -- Ruling ideologies in modern Turkey / Kerem Öktem -- Constitutionalism in Turkey / Aslı Ü. Bâli -- Civil-military relations and the demise of Turkish democracy / Nil S. Satana and Burak Bilgehan Özpek -- Capturing secularism in Turkey : the ease of comparison / Murat Akan -- The political economy of Turkey since the end of World War II / Şevket Pamuk -- Neoliberal politics in Turkey / Sinan Erensü and Yahya M. Madra -- The politics of welfare in Turkey / Erdem Yörük -- The political economy of environmental policymaking in Turkey : a vicious cycle / Fikret Adaman, Bengi Akbulut, and Murat Arsel -- The politics of energy in Turkey : running engines on geopolitical, discursive, and coercive power / Begüm Özkaynak, Ethemcan Turhan, and Cem İskender Aydın -- The contemporary politics of health in Turkey : diverse actors, competing frames, and uneven policies / Volkan Yılmaz -- Populism in Turkey : historical and contemporary patterns / Yüksel Taşkın -- Old and new polarizations and failed democratizations in Turkey / Murat Somer -- Economic voting during the AKP era in Turkey / S. Erdem Aytaç -- Party organizations in Turkey and their consequences for democracy / Melis G. Laebens -- The evolution of conventional political participation in Turkey / Ersin Kalaycıoğlu -- Symbolic politics and contention in the Turkish Republic / Senem Aslan -- Islamist activism in Turkey / Menderes Çınar -- The Kurdish movement in Turkey : understanding everyday perceptions and experiences / Dilan Okcuoglu -- The Transnational Mobilization of the Alevis of Turkey : from invisibility to the struggle for equality / Ceren Lord -- Politics of asylum seekers and refugees in Turkey : limits and prospects of populism / Fatih Resul Kılınç and Şule Toktaş -- A theoretical account of Turkish foreign policy under the AKP / Tarık Oğuzlu -- US-Turkey relations since WWII : from alliance to transactionalism / Serhat Güvenç and Soli Özel -- Turkey and Europe : historical asynchronicities and perceptual asymmetries / Hakan Yılmaz -- Turkey's foreign policy in the Middle East : an identity perspective / Lisel Hintz -- Turkey and Russia : historical patterns and contemporary trends in bilateral relations / Evren Balta and Mitat Çelikpala -- Citizenship and protest behavior in Turkey / Ayhan Kaya -- Gender politics and the struggle for equality in Turkey / Zehra F. Kabasakal Arat -- Human rights organizations in Turkey / Başak Çalı -- Truth, justice, and commemoration initiatives in Turkey / Onur Bakiner -- The politics of media in Turkey : chronicle of a stillborn media system / Sarphan Uzunoğlu -- The AKP's rhetoric of rule in Turkey : political melodramas of conspiracy from "ergenekon" to "mastermind" / Erdağ Göknar -- The transformation of political cinema in Turkey since the 1960s : a change of discourse / Zeynep Çetin-Erus and M. Elif Demoğlu -- Political music in Turkey : the birth and diversification of dissident and conformist music (1920-2000) / Mustafa Avcı.

CHAPTER 1: DEVEWPMENT OF DEMOCRATIC GOVERNMENT IN TURKEY: CRISES, INTERRUPTIONS AND REEQUILIBRATIONS by Ergun Özbudun 1 The Development of Representative and Democratic Government The Ottoman Empire 2 The First Ottoman Parliament 6 The Second Constitutionalist Period (1908-1918) 8 The National Liberation Period (1918-1923) 9 The Consolidation ofthe Republic 11 Transition to MuJtiparty Politics and the Democratic Party Period 14 Turkey' s Second T ry at Democracy (1961-1980) 19 The 1980 Coup and the 1982Constitution 25 Return to Competitive Politics and the1983 Elections 28 An Appraisal 30 Theoretical Analysis 31 Political CuJture 31 Historical Development 35 Class Structure 36 State Structure and Strength 38 Political Structure 41 Political Leadershlp 43 Development Performance 43 International Factors 44 Future Prospects and Policy Implications 45 Policies Promotlng the Growth of Clv/I Soc/ety 45 Policies Promotlng Governmental Stabll/ty and Efticleney 47 Policies Promotlng Economlc Growth and Equity 49 Conclusion 51 Notes CHAPTER 2: STAGES OF POLlTICAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE TURKISH REPUBLIC by İlter Turan 59 The Consolidation of the Nation State and the Evalution of an Infrastructure for PoliticalCompetition 61 The Consolidation of the Political System 61 The Transition to Competitive Politics 64 The Democratic Party Period: The Failure of the First Turkish Experiment with Political Democracy 72 The Legacy of the Single Party 73 The Political Consequences of Economic Pol/cies 76 Growing Authoritarianism of the Democratic Party 79 The First Turkish Democraey: An Appraisal 81 The Reconstruction of the Turkish Democracy and Us Second Demise 83 The Parties and the Party System 86 The Governments 88 The Legislature and Legislators 89 The Decline of the Bureaucracy 92 The Second Turkish Democratic Experiment: An Appraisal 94 The Turkish Attempts at Democracy: Some Basic Problem s 95 The Primacy of the Collectivity 96 The Primacy of Polities 97 Political Elitism 100 The Cost of Being out of Power 103 Concluding Remarks 106 Notes 108 CHAPTER 3: POST-1980 PARTI ES AND POLITICS IN TURKEY by Üstün Ergüder 113 Maladies of the Party System During the 1980s 117 V olatility 117 Fragmentation 119 Polarization 122 The 1983 Election 126 Post-1983 Developments: The Dilemmas of the Party System 129 The 1987 Eleetion: "Reinstatement or Reform" Revisited 133 Notes 141 CHAPTER 4 THE GRAND NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE POST-1983 MULTI-PAR1Y ERA by Ersin Kalaycıoğlu 147 Introduction 149 The Process of Legislative Institutionalization and the Turkish Grand National Assembly 155 The House Rules and Norms: The Rules of Procedure in the TGNA 157 Procedural Rules Conceming the House Activities ot the Legislators 159 Politicaı Parties in the TGNA 164 Party Discipline in the TGNA 166 Legislative Activities and the Party Groups in the TGNA 169 The Commission Structure and Activity in the TGNA 175 Conclusion 181 Notes 184 CHAPTER 5: HUMAN RIGHTS AND THE RULE OF LAW by Ergun Özbudun 193 The Rule of Law under the Constitution of 1982 196 Human Rights 198 The Independence ot the Judiciary 202 The Constitutional Court and Judicial Review ot the Constitutionality ot Laws 203 Turkeyand the International Protectionot Human Rights 206 Notes 209.