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The Pandora’s box: democratization and rule of law in Turkey

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Abstract

A prominent question in the literature on democracy is concerned with the role of external factors in stimulating the process of democratization and uploading rule of law. This paper tackles the following questions: How does the political conditionality of an international organization—the EU in this case—stimulate democracy in third countries? Equally important, does conditionality always have a positive impact and could it be possible to witness the EU undermining democracy in an unexpected manner? This paper addresses these questions through an analysis of the Turkish democracy in the light of its accession to the EU and through an application of the EU membership conditionality by looking at rule of law in Turkey. The general contention in the political conditionality literature is that the EU enables an acceding country to adopt its democratic principles, and facilitates transition to democracy, while strengthening rule of law. However, the Turkish transformation seems to challenge this contention. This paper proposes that the EU’s political conditionality in bringing about political transformation in Turkey as a membership precondition unexpectedly illuminated the underlying anti-democratic tendencies and tensions in Turkish politics. The democratization process in Turkey since 1999, partly stimulated by the EU, has opened up a Pandora’s box releasing the conflict between the secularists and religious conservatives in Turkey that has long been suppressed. This paper analyzes these cleavages through the prism of EU political conditionality with regards to rule of law.

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Notes

  1. Terrence McCoy, “Turkey bans Twitter and Twitter explodes,” The Washington Post, March 21, 2014. http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2014/03/21/turkey-bans-twitter-and-twitter-explodes/?tid=hp_mm

  2. ‘Erkan Ala: Anayasayi tanimiyoruz’, Hurriyet Turkish daily news, March 3, 2015. http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/28344069.asp.

  3. Helsinki European Council Presidency Conclusions, December 10–11, 1999. http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/uedocs/cms_data/docs/pressdata/en/ec/acfa4c.htm,

  4. The European Commission, Progress Report 2004, 1. http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/archives/pdf/key_documents/2004/rr_tr_2004_en.pdf

  5. Negotiations Framework, Principles Governing Negotiations, the European Commission. http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/turkey/st20002_05_tr_framedoc_en.pdf

  6. Şahin, H, “Müslüman Demokratlar?” Turkish Daily Newspaper Radikal, 8 November 2002, 15.

  7. AGSP (2002) http://www.euturkey.org.tr/index.php?p=23357&l=1, November 20.

  8. “Vakit manşetten deşifre etti,” Radikal, Turkish Daily newspaper, 18 May 2006,1.

  9. “Lanetlenesi Olay,” Hürriyet Turkish Daily newspaper, 5 May 2006,16.

  10. “Sezer: Saldırı demokratik ve laik Cumhuriyet’e” Radikal Turkish Daily newspaper, 18 May 2006,.6.

  11. Berkan, I. “Cumhurbaşkanı Abdullah Gül,” Turkish Daily Radikal, 25 April 2007,3.

  12. Radikal Turkish Daily newspaper, 28 April 2007, 14.

  13. Smith, H. and Temko, N, “Turkey faces military crisis,” The Observor, April

    29 2007, http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2007/apr/29/turkey.eu/print.

  14. http://www.kgm.adalet.gov.tr/tasariasamalari/kanunlasan/2012yili/kanmetni/6271k.htm

  15. Turenc. T. “AKP için büyük yanılgı” Turkish Daily Newspaper

    Hürriyet, 28 April 2008, http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/28344069.asp

  16. Türenç, T. “Başbakan laikliği dilim dilim doğruyor.” Turkish Daily Newspaper

    Hürriyet, 28 January 2008, 9.

  17. Zaman, Turkish Daily Newspaper, 31 March 2008, http://www.zaman.com.tr/haber.do?haberno=671427

  18. “AK Parti Kapatilmasin karari cikti”, Turkish Daily Newspaper Milliyet, July 30, 2008. http://www.milliyet.com.tr/karar--font-color-red-bugun-mu---font--aciklanacak-/siyaset/siyasetdetay/30.07.2008/972729/default.htm

  19. Balci, K. “AB uyeligimiz ve Referendum,” Zaman Turkish Daily Newspaper, 2 August 2010.

  20. Ergenekon case—tied together to the Balyoz case—involved the arrest of leading journalists, military officers, and academics accused of plotting to overthrow the AKP government by instigating societal hatred. Both cases turned out to be fabrications to remove the opposition leaders from positions of power in 2013,

  21. Turkish Daily newspaper VATAN, 13 April 2009, http://www.gazetevatan.com/turkan-saylan-neye-uzuldu--232967-gundem/

  22. http://t24.com.tr/haber/erdogan-bazi-kitaplar-vardir-ki-bombadan-daha-tesirlidir,150308.

  23. “Evet, Ergenekon’un savcisiyim,” Turkish Daily newspaper Vatan, 16 July 2008, http://www.gazetevatan.com/-evet-ergenekon-un-savcisiyim--189246-siyaset/.

  24. Turkish Daily Newspaper Hurriyet, June 22, 2014. http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/26663520.asp.

  25. “Top judge meets with lawyers of Balyoz convicts, Today’s Zaman, May 9, 2014. http://www.todayszaman.com/national_top-judge-meets-with-lawyers-of-balyoz-convicts_347406.html

  26. Hurriyet, Turkish Daily newspaper, June 18, 2014. http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/top-turkish-court-paves-way-for-retrial-of-balyoz-coup-case-convicts.aspx?pageID=238&nid=67961

  27. “Erdogan: Kirli planlara asla prim vermeyecegiz,” Dunya Turkish Daily Newspaper, January 23, 2010. http://www.dunya.com/erdogan-kirli-planlara-asla-prim-vermeyecegiz-75823h.htm

  28. “Erdoğan ‘dindar nesil’i savundu,” Radikal Turkish Daily Newspaper, 6 February 2012.

  29. Interview with the Minister of Culture, Ertugrul Gunay, Taraf, January 2, 2014. http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/politics/2014/01/turkey-ex-minister-resignation-arbitrary-rule.html

  30. For the full text of the Constitutional Amendments adopted, see http://www.anayasa.gen.tr/5982.htm

  31. “Europe criticizes Turkish government,” Turkish Daily newspaper Today’s Zaman, January 8, 2014. http://www.todayszaman.com/news-336111-europe-criticizes-turkish-govt-move-to-curb-hsyk-power.html.

  32. European Commission Progress Report on Turkey’s Accession to the EU, 2013, p.12. http://ec.europa.eu/enlargement/pdf/key_documents/2013/package/brochures/turkey_2013.pdf.

  33. Serkan Demistas, “Venice Commission urges Turkish Constitutional Court to annul judiciary bill,” Turkish Daily Hurriyet, March 6, 2014. http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/venice-commission-urges-turkish-constitutional-court-to-annul-judiciary-bill.aspx?pageID=238&nID=63242&NewsCatID=339.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Sabanci University, Orhanli, Tuzla, 34946, Istanbul, Turkey

    Meltem Müftüler-Baç

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Müftüler-Baç, M. The Pandora’s box: democratization and rule of law in Turkey. Asia Eur J 14, 61–77 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10308-015-0435-9

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