Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Human Rights in Turkey: Past, Present and Future

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Human Rights in Turkey

Part of the book series: Philosophy and Politics - Critical Explorations ((PPCE,volume 15))

Abstract

This article investigates Turkey’s long-term human rights problems and their social and political causes. In the modern sense, Turkey has a human rights history that is nearly two centuries long. Despite this long sociological background, a fully functioning democracy and legal system with competent institutions and established rules have not been built till this day. Furthermore, the country’s occasional progress in furthering fundamental rights has been characterized with tidal backslides of interventions and backsliding as in the case in the post-coup conditions of July 15, 2016, and many other periods that preceded. In this way, considering the history of human rights in Turkey, two contradictory images reflect different realities in Turkey. In the first image, a modernizing, developing and democratizing Turkey is evolving with an unwavering rule of law. The second picture, however, reflects widespread and targeted anti-democratic political processes, during which rule of law and separation of powers are still not achieved and social order is dominated by the law of the ruler. The judiciary is not impartial and independent. Control and balance systems, the social division of labor and fair income distribution are missing in the frame. There is systematic discrimination against certain social segments such as Kurds and some religious groups. The social system is run unjustly and unequally. The deep-rooted problems in the sociology of Turkey are reflected in the constant intervention of the ruling elites to the demands of the civil society for established democratic structures and progress in human rights and freedoms.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 179.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Notes

  1. 1.

    Decree 667, available at http://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2016/07/20160723-8.htm;

    Decree 668, available at http://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2016/07/20160727M2-1.pdf;

    Decree 669, available at http://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2016/07/20160731-5.htm;

    Decree 670, available at http://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2016/08/20160817-17.htm;

    Decree 673, available at http://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2016/09/20160901M2-1.pdf;

    Decree 677, available at http://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2016/10/20161029-4.htm.

References

  • Açik, Coşkun. 2011. Ulusal Insan Haklari Kurumları ve Türkiye Örneğine Eleştirel Yaklaşım [The National Human Rights Institutions and Critical Approaches to Turkey]. Unpublished master’s thesis. Ankara University, Institute of Social Sciences, Political Science and Public Administration Department.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ahlers, Anna L., and Rudolf Stichweh. 2019. The Bipolarity of Democracy and Authoritarianism: Value Patterns, Inclusion Roles and Forms of Internal Differentiation of Political Systems. Sociologia & Antropologia 9 (3): 819–846.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ahmad, Feroz. 1964. The Young Turks. Oxford: The Clarendon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Akçam, Taner. 2004. From Empire to Republic: Turkish Nationalism and the Armenian Genocide. New York: Zed Books Ltd.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Aknur, Müge. 2013. Towards More Democratic Civil-Military Relations in Turkey. L’Europe en Formation 1 (367): 31–50.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Akşin, Sina. 1996. Ana Çizgileriyle Türkiye’nin Yakın Tarihi (İkinci Baskı) [Outline of Recent History of Turkey] (2nd ed.). Ankara: İmaj Yayıncılık.

    Google Scholar 

  • Alemdar, Zeynep. 2011. Sarmal Modeli Yarı Sarmak: Türkiye’de İnsan Hakları Kurumları-Devlet-AB İlişkisi [Are We There Yet? Spiral Model: Human Rights Institutions-State-EU Relations in Turkey]. Uluslararası İlişkiler, Cilt 7, Sayı 28 s. 111–128.

    Google Scholar 

  • Altıparmak, Kerem. 2010. Köprüden Önce Son Çıkış: Türkiye İnsan Hakları Kurumu Kanun Tasarısı’nın Eleştirel Değerlendirilmesi [Last Exit Before the Bridge: Human Rights Institutions of Turkey a Critical Evaluation of the DRAFT LAw]. Ankara Üniversitesi Siyasal Bilgiler Fakültesi İnsan Hakları Merkezi İnsan Hakları Çalışma Metinleri XIII Ankara. http://ihm.politics.ankara.edu.tr/userfiles/file/Kopruden%20son%20cikis.pdf.

  • Arkan, Atilla, Cem Duran Uzun, Erdal Tanas Karagöl, İsmail Çağlar, Murat Yeşiltaş, Nebi Miş, Nurullah Gür, and Ufuk Ulutaş. 2017. 2017’de Hukuk ve İnsan Hakları [Law and Human Rights in 2017]. Ankara: SETA Vakfı.

    Google Scholar 

  • Aydin, Hasan, and Koksal Avincan. 2020. Intellectual Crimes and Serious Violation of Human Rights in Turkey: A Narrative Inquiry. The International Journal of Human Rights 24 (8): 1127–1155. https://doi.org/10.1080/13642987.2020.1713108.

  • Bahçecik, Şerif Onur. 2015. The Power Effects of Human Rights Reforms in Turkey: Enhanced Surveillance and Depoliticisation. Third World Quarterly 36 (6): 1222–1236. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2015.1047204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baran, Zeyno. 2010. Torn Country: Turkey Between Secularism and Islamism. Stanford: Hoover Institution Press Publication.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barın, Taylan. 2014. Türkiye’nin Yeni Arnayasa Arayışı: 2011–2013 TBMM Anayasa Uzlaşma Komisyonu Tecrübesi [Turkey’s Quest for a New Constitutional: 2011–2013 Constitutional Reconciliation Commission Experience]. İstanbul: On İki Levha Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barkey, Henri. 2014. Turkish Democracy: Two Steps Forward, Two Steps Backwards. Harvard International Review 35 (4): 75–78.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berkes, Niyazi. 1964. The Development of Secularism in Turkey. Montreal: McGill University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2002. Türkiye’de Çağdaşlaşma [Modernization in Turkey]. İstanbul: YKY Yay.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bosher, John Francis. 1989. The French Revolution. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bukovansky, Mlada. 2002. Legitimacy and Power Politics. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bürgin, Alexander. 2019. Policy Learning: An Understudied Mechanism of EU Influence on Turkish Domestic Politics. Turkish Studies 20 (4): 493–511. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683849.2019.1601562.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • CESRAN. 2011. The Paradox of Turkish Civil Military Relations. http://cesran.org/cesran-papers-1.

  • Cizre, Umit. 2004. Problems of Democratic Governance of Civil-Military Relations in Turkey and the European Union Enlargement Zone. European Journal of Political Research 43 (1): 110–125. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6765.2004.00147.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Council of the European Union. 2018. Enlargement and Stabilization and Association Process Council Conclusions. https://www.consilium.europa.eu/media/35863/st10555-en18.pdf.

  • Davidson, Scott. 1997. Human Rights. Buckingham: Open University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Demirel, Tanel. 2010. 2000’li Yıllarda Asker ve Siyaset: Kontrollü Değişim ile Statüko Arasında Türk Ordusu [Military and politics in 2000s: Turkish army between controlled change and status quo]. SETA Analiz, Sayı: 18. SETA Siyaset Ekonomi ve Toplum Araştırmaları Vakfı, Ankara.

    Google Scholar 

  • Donnelly, Jack. 1986. International Human Rights: A Regime Analysis. International Organization 40 (3): 599–642.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dündar, Can. 2019. Der 15. Juli: “Ein Geschenk Allahs” für Erdoğan [July 15: “A gift from Allah” for Erdoğan]. Deutsche Welle, July 15. https://www.dw.com/de/alarm-f%C3%BCr-Erdoğan-zum-jahrestag-des-t%C3%BCrkischen-putschversuchs/a-49567356.

  • Durkheim, Emile. 1966. The Division of Labour in Society. New York: The Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erdoğan, Mustafa, and Serap Yazıcı. 2011. Türkiye’nin Yeni Anayasasına Doğru [Towards Turkey’s New Constitution]. İstanbul: TESEV Anayasa Komisyonu Raporu.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erdoğdu, Aykut. 2019, Korkutan Iki Yıllık Senaryo [Frightening Two-Year Scenario], Odatv, January 12. https://odatv.com/korkutan-iki-yillik-senaryo-01121901.html.

  • Eryılmaz, Bilal. 1992. Ottoman Millet System. Istanbul: Ağaç Yayıncılık.

    Google Scholar 

  • European Commission. 2018. Commission implementing decision of 5.12.2018 adopting an Annual Action Programme for Turkey for the year 2018, Brussels. https://ec.europa.eu/neighbourhood-enlargement/sites/near/files/aap-and-annex-turkey-2018_0.pdf.

  • Finkel, Caroline. 2006. Osman’s Dream: The Story of the Ottoman Empire 1300–1923. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Freedom House. 2018. Freedom in the World 2018. https://freedomhouse.org/print/50067.

  • ———. 2019a. Freedom in the World 2019. https://freedomhouse.org/report/countries-world-freedom-2019.

  • ———. 2019b. Turkey in Transit: Democratization in Turkey.https://freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/inline_images/Turkey%20in%20Transit.pdf.

  • ———. 2019c. Freedom on the Net 2019: The Crisis of Social Media. https://www.freedomonthenet.org/countries-in-detail.

  • Giddens, Anthony. 1990. The Consequences of Modernity. Stanford: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Girdap, Hafza. 2020. Human Rights, Conflicts, and Dislocation: The Case of Turkey in a Global Spectrum. American Journal of Qualitative Research 4 (1): 69–84. https://doi.org/10.29333/ajqr/8266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gocek, Fatma Müge. 2011. Transformation of Turkey: Redefining State and Society from the Ottoman. New York: Ibtauris.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Gönenç, Levent. 2015. Türkiye’nin Anayasa Uzlaşma Komisyonu Deneyimi [Turkey’s Constitutional Reconciliation Commission Experience]. Ankara: Türkiye Ekonomi Politikaları Araştırma Vakfı. https://www.tepav.org.tr/tr/yayin/s/762.

  • Gözler, Kemal. 2017. Elveda Anayasa: 16 Nisan 2017’de Oylayacağımız Anayasa Değişikliği Hakkında Eleştiriler [Farewell Constitution: Criticism About the Constitutional Amendment We Will Vote on April 16, 2017]. Bursa: Ekin Yayınları.

    Google Scholar 

  • Güneş, Ümran. 2018. National Human Rights Institutions for the Protection of Human Rights in Turkey: Ombudsman Institution and Human Rights and Equality Institution in Turkey. Trakya University Journal of Social Science 20 (1): 165–186.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Güvenç, Bozkurt. 1997. Secular Trends and Turkish Identity Perceptions. Journal of International Affairs 2 (4). https://dergipark.org.tr/en/pub/perception/issue/49038/625582.

  • Hanioğlu, M.Şükrü. 2008. A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Haugom, Lars. 2019. The Turkish Armed Forces and Civil-Military Relations in Turkey After the 15 July 2016 Coup Attempt. Scandinavian Journal of Military Studies 2 (1): 1–8. https://doi.org/10.31374/sjms.14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Human Rights Watch. 2019. Events of Turkey. https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2019/country-chapters/turkey.

  • IDEA. 2019. The Global State of Democracy 2019 Addressing the Ills, Reviving the Promise. Stockholm: International IDEA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Inalcık, Halil. 1994. An Economic and Social History of the Ottoman Empire. Cambridge: CUP.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jevčák, Matus. 2015. Comparison of Civil-Military Relations in Turkey Before and After 2002. Unpublished master’s thesis. Masaryk University, Faculty of Social Studies Department of Political Science.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kabasakal Arat, Zehra F. 2007. Turkey’s Prospects and Broader Implications. In Human Rights in Turkey, ed. Z.F.K. Arat, 262–275. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kardas, Şaban. 2002. Human Rights and democracy Promotion: The Case of Turkey-EU Relations. Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations 1 (3): 136–150.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karpat, Kemal H. 2000. Ottoman Past and Today’s Turkey. Boston: Brill.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. 2002. Studies on Ottoman Social and Political History: Selected Articles and essAys. Boston: Brill.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Keyder, Çağlar. 1987. State and Class in Turkey: A Study in Capitalist Development. London: Verso.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keyman, Ariana. 2012. Civil-Military Relations in Turkey. http://www.e-ir.info/2012/05/21/civil-military-relations-in-turkey/.

  • Keyman, E. Fuat, and Senem Aydın Duzgit. 2007. Europeanization, Democratization and Human Rights in Turkey. In Turkey and the European Union, ed. E. LaGro and Knud Erik Jørgensen, 69–88. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kongar, Emre. 1998. 21. Yüzyılda Türkiye: 2000’li Yıllarda, Türkiye’nin Toplumsal Yapısı [Turkey in the 21st Century: Turkey’s Social Structure]. Remzi Kitabevi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kösebalaban, Hasan. 2011. Ottoman Origins of Turkish Identity Discourses. In Turkish Foreign Policy, 25–46. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kuru, Ahmet T. 2012. The Rise and Fall of Military Tutelage in Turkey: Fears of Islamism, Kurdism, and Communism. Insight Turkey 14 (2): 37–57.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewis, Bernard. 2002. The emergence of modern Turkey. Oxford: OUP.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mağdurlar için Adalet. 2019. Social Costs Report of the State of Emergency in Its Second Year. Ankara: Mağdurlar için Adalet Topluluğu.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marx, Karl. 1977. A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy. Moscow: Progress Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • McPhee, Peter. 2002. The French Revolution 1789–1799. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, Frederic P., Agnes F. Vandome, and John McBrewster (eds). 2010. Human Rights of Kurdish People in Turkey. Alphascript Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • OHCHR. 2018. Report on the Impact of the State of Emergency on Human Rights in Turkey, including an update on the South-East January–December 2017, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

    Google Scholar 

  • Oran, Baskın. 2007. The Minority Concept and Rights in Turkey. In Human Rights in Turkey, ed. Z.F.K. Arat, 35–56. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Ortaylı, İlber. 2005. İmparatorluğun En Uzun Yüzyılı [The Longest Century of the Empire]. İstanbul: İletişim Yayınları.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ozbudun, Ergun. 2000. Contemporary Turkish Politics: Challenges to Democratic Consolidation. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers, Inc.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Özcan, Mehmet. 1999. Avrupa Birliği-Türkiye İlişkilerinde Temel Belirleyici Unsur Olarak İnsan Hakları [Key Determinants of Human Rights as EU-Turkey Relations.]. Polis Bilimleri Dergisi, 2(5–6). Polis Teşkilatinin 155. Yili Özel Sayisi.

    Google Scholar 

  • Özer, Yonca. 2015. AB’ye Üyelik Sürecinde Türkiye’de Demokratikleşme [Democratization in Turkey During the EU Accession Process]. Marmara Üniversitesi Avrupa Topluluğu Enstitüsü Avrupa Araştırmaları Dergisi 23(2), 143–168. https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/maruaad/issue/42386/510475.

  • Öztürk, Osman Metin. 2006. Ordu ve Politika [Army and Policies] (2. Baskı). Ankara: Fark Yayınları.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reuters. 2019. Turkey Condemns European Parliament Committee Call to Suspend Accession. Reuters, February 21. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-eu/turkey-condemns-european-parliament-committee-call-to-suspend-accession-idUSKCN1QA0MJ.

  • Salah, Mehmet. 2013. The Turkish Working Class and Socialist Movement in Perspective. https://libcom.org/library/turkish-working-class-socialist-movement-perspective.

  • Smith, Thomas W. 2007. Leveraging Norms: The ECHR and Turkey’s Human Rights Reforms. In Human Rights in Turkey, ed. Z.F.K. Arat, 262–275. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Strauss, Johann. 2010. A Constitution for a Multilingual Empire: Translations of the Kanun-ı Esasi and Other Official Texts into Minority Languages. In The first Ottoman Experiment in Democracy, ed. C. Herzog and M. Sharif, 21–51. Wurzburg: Orient-Institut.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tekin, Ömer Faruk, Mehmet Göküş, and Ali Şahin. 2013. Civil-Military Relationship Between 2000 and 2012 in Turkey in the Context of Modern State. In Proceedings of IISES, 6thInternational Academic Conference (pp. 448–456). June 23–26, Bergen, Norway.

    Google Scholar 

  • Toktaş, Şule, and Ümit Kurt. 2010. The Turkish Military’s Autonomy, JDP Rule and the EU Reform Process in the 2000s: An Assessment of the Turkish Version of Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DECAF). Turkish Studies 11 (3): 387–403.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Türkmen, Füsun. 2007. Turkey’s Participation in Global and Regional Human Rights Regimes. In Human Rights in Turkey, ed. Z.F.K. Arat, 249–261. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Uluçakar, Mustafa, and Ali Çağlar. 2017. An Analysis of Two Different Models of Civil-Military Relations: The Case of Turkey. Uluslararası İlişkiler 14 (55): 41–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • United States Department of State. 2018. Turkey 2018 Human Rights Report. Washington, DC: Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/TURKEY-2018-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf.

  • WJP. 2019. 2019 WJP Rule of Law Index. Washington, DC: World Justice Project. https://worldjusticeproject.org/sites/default/files/documents/ROLI-2019-Reduced.pdf.

  • Yasa, Ibrahim. 1970. Türkiye’nin Toplumsal Yapısı ve Temel Sorunları [Turkey’s Social Structure and Key Issues]. Türkiye ve Orta Doğu Amme Idaresi Enstitüsü Yayinlari.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yilmaz, Ömer, Bülent Çiçekli, and M. Bedri Eryılmaz. 2007. The Analysis of European Court of Human Rights’ Decisions Related to Turkey (2002 – 2005). Ankara: USAK.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zurcher, Erik J. 2004. Turkey: A Modern History. London: Tauris.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Police and Security Management, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Berlin, Germany

    Ercan Balcioglu

Authors
  1. Ercan Balcioglu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Culture, Florida Gulf Coast University, Fort Myers, FL, USA

    Hasan Aydin

  2. University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA, USA

    Winston Langley

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Balcioglu, E. (2021). Human Rights in Turkey: Past, Present and Future. In: Aydin, H., Langley, W. (eds) Human Rights in Turkey. Philosophy and Politics - Critical Explorations, vol 15. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57476-5_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-57476-5_2

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-57475-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-57476-5

  • eBook Packages: Law and CriminologyLaw and Criminology (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation