Turkey’s Challenges and Transformation

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Frontmatter

2. Chapter 1. Introduction

   Harun Arıkan, Zeynep Alemdar

   Abstract

   For the past two decades, Turkey has been undergoing fundamental changes on domestic and foreign policy levels. Domestic political, legal, and social transformations are abundant. Under the dominant party system of the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (AKP, the Justice and Development Party) since 2002, Turkey’s state institutions have gone under tremendous changes in the legislative, judiciary, and executive branches, as well as in political parties and the election system. These changes have brought about various pressures and questions on democratization, human rights, and identity-related issues. Transformation on the institutional level came with ideological divergences tearing up the republican fabric of the society.

3. Chapter 2. Transformation of Party and Election System in Turkey

   Yüksel Alper Ecevit

   Abstract

   Turkish party system in the 1990s was fragmented. Unstable and short-lived coalition governments were the most common form of government. The political and economic instability of the period was claimed to be a consequence of the lack of cooperation at the elite level. The 2000s, on the other hand, presented a dramatic change to the party system as the fragmented system initially transformed from a multi-party system to a two-party system and then to a predominant party system. The latest shift in the institutional transformation from a parliamentary system to a presidential one brought about a change in electing the executive. Instead of applying proportional representation in elections, a majoritarian view of democracy has been installed. This chapter would provide a descriptive account of the remarkable transformation of political party and electoral system in Turkey in the last two decades.

4. Chapter 3. Transformation and Challenges in the Governmental System in Turkey: The Turkish Type of Presidentalism

   Harun Arıkan, Yüksel Alper Ecevit

   Abstract

   This chapter is primarily concerned with developments and changes in executive-legislative relations in Turkey with particular reference to the debate on parliamentarism versus presidentialism in Turkish politics. The constitutional referendum in 2017 installed the presidential system with a highly centralized executive structure. The new system presents a form of majoritarian view of democracy where separation of powers and judicial independence is subject to review, due to the relatively weakness of checks and balances in the systems. This chapter provides insights to highly debated transformation process in Turkish governmental system.

5. Chapter 4. Transformation of Judiciary for a Turkey in Transition: Dynamics and Consequences

   Sanem Baykal

   Abstract

   This chapter will focus on this interaction between different societal and political forces on the Turkish judiciary over the last two decades and will aim at demonstrating the predominantly damaging impact of such struggle, not only on the conceptualisation of the principle of rule of law, but unavoidably also on the proper internalisation and observance of principles of democracy and protection of human rights. In that context, both enabling/accelerating and hindering factors and dynamics will be analysed in order to underline the magnitude of difficulties of any such transformation requiring a shift of mentality, without an overwhelming political and social consensus on the fundamentals and constituent elements of such norms and principles or the direction of such transformation. Such analysis will arguably be instrumental in providing both the indications for the limits and prospects of a resilient political system with a strong state capacity for Turkey in the impending decades of potential turbulence, as well as the basic requirements and tools for building such crucial resilience and capacity.

6. Chapter 5. Turkey’s Political Economy in International Context

   Alper H. Yağcı

   Abstract

   This chapter provides an overview of Turkey’s political economy during the twenty-first century, paying special attention to how domestic and international dynamics interacted. During this period, Turkey experienced substantial economic growth and three major international dynamics contributed to its pace and structure. First is the monetary policies of the advanced industrialized countries like the USA, which affected the availability of funds going to developing countries. Second is Turkey’s relationship with the European Union, which stalled in a process of externally differentiated integration after initially seeming to move toward membership. Third is the geographical diversification of Turkey’s trade and finance links with a growing role for the Middle East, paralleling the increasing importance of this region in Turkish foreign policy agenda. The Middle East also became a major source of immigrants, turning Turkey into a country with a large non-Turkish-speaking immigrant population for the first time in recent history.

7. Chapter 6. Transformation of Secularism in Turkey

   Umut Azak

   Abstract

   Though an offshoot of the (Islamist) National Outlook movement, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) has formally advocated since its initial years a pluralist secularism equidistant to all religious groups. Nevertheless, the AKP government has been more reluctant than its precedents in ending the republic’s bias toward Sunni Islam. In the last two decades of this government, a much more conservative understanding of Islam has been officially promoted as the basis of Turkish national identity. This chapter analyzes how and to what extent the AKP government’s policies in the last two decades reflected a more visible Islamist agenda at both national and international levels.

8. Chapter 7. Gender Equality in Turkey

   Zeynep Alemdar

   Abstract

   Turkey has a strong women’s movement, and even in times of severe political pressures, women were able to defend their rights to improve gender equality in the country. This chapter, after a brief history of women’s movement in Turkey, examines the Justice and Development Party (AKP)’s approach to women’s rights in light of the international and domestic developments of three particular time periods. The ruling ranks of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), from its coming to power in 2002 till 2007, when it enforced its stronghold, appeared supportive to women’s demands for equality and justice. During the second period, from 2007 to 2013, the ruling ranks were navigating carefully to keep the women who were instrumental in founding the party and expanding the voters’ base. The last period, starting with the Gezi events, from 2013 to 2020, is a showcase of a conservative party in the midst of a polarized and securitized world aiming to stabilize a certain electoral vote. Examining these three periods through previous research and supplementary data, this chapter situates the last 20 years of the AKP government in Turkey’s women’s rights history.

9. Chapter 8. The Changing Dynamics of Prostests Under Turkey’s Authoritarian Transformation: Actors, Repertoires, and Strategies of Oppression

   Mert Arslanalp, T. Deniz Erkmen

   Abstract

   While there is a significant literature about the authoritarian transformation that Turkey experienced within the last decade, the effects of this transformation on the protest arena did not receive much attention. In this chapter, we assess the transformation and continuities in the protest arena in Turkey in connection to regime transformation under the AKP rule. Using an original protest event dataset, we examine aggregate levels, temporal and geographic distribution, specific issues, and repertoires of protests and how they have changed under the impact of tightening protest control. We situate these transformations in the broader macro-political changes of the domestic and international arena with a historical sequential perspective that pays particular attention to various inflection points the Turkish regime has undergone. Our analysis suggests that although the number of protests initially increased at various milestones of the regime’s authoritarian turn, they declined since 2016 as it institutionalized a highly repressive protest regime. This regime channeled protest repertoires into less confrontational and/or individualized forms, often sustained by smaller contingents of protestors.

10. Chapter 9. (De)Securitization of the Kurdish Issue in Turkey: The Nexus of Foreign Policy and Domestic Politics in the Twenty-First Century

    Gökçe Balaban

    Abstract

    This chapter analyzes (de)securitization of the Kurdish issue in Turkey during the twenty-first century by focusing on the interplay between foreign and domestic policy. Accordingly, it argues that in the new millennia, foreign policy has become an active force shaping (de)securitization practices of Turkey vis-à-vis the Kurdish issue. Three developments in foreign policy were significant in this respect: the EU reform process, relations with Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq and the civil war in Syria. While the first two contributed to the desecuritization of the Kurdish issue in domestic policy, the latter brought national security mindsets back into the state agenda and hence engendered resecuritization of the topic.

11. Chapter 10. The Transformation of Migration Governance in Turkey

    Uğur Yıldız, Deniz Sert

    Abstract

    Turkey in the last two decades has witnessed important changes at both the domestic and foreign policy levels. Migration governance is a manifest policy area of this transformation. On one hand, with the new law on foreigners and international protection, migration governance in Turkey was institutionalized for the first time under the establishment of a civil administration to manage migration. This transformation at the institutional level came about from an ideological divergence. On the other hand, the massive, rapid, and visible inflow of Syrian refugees following the outbreak of civil war in 2011 redefined the scope and role of migration in Turkey. Within this context, the chapter aims to explain the interactions between the domestic and international factors and the dynamics of these transformations over the past two decades in Turkey’s migration history.

12. Chapter 11. Transformation of Turkey’s Environmental Policy: A Case of Selective Europeanization?

    Sevgi Balkan Şahin, Marella Bodur-Ün

    Abstract

    This chapter examines how Turkey has selectively transformed its environmental policy as part of its Europeanization process since the late 1990s. An analysis of official documents has revealed that out of three areas -public participation in environmental governance, environmental impact assessment, and the mitigation of climate change- Turkey has recently preferred “selective Europeanization” only in the area of climate change. After holding off for five years, Turkey ratified the Paris Climate Agreement in 2021, prepared the Green Deal Action Plan, and declared its commitment for a carbon-neutral economy by 2053. Building on the Europeanization literature, this study attributes Turkey’s recent decision to harmonize its climate change policy with that of the EU to the cost/benefit calculations of the ruling Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi—AKP), which has finally acknowledged the link between the implementation of green policies and the access to global financial resources. Focusing on the role of material calculations, this study points to domestic politico-economic dynamics to explain the selective-Europeanization of Turkey’s environmental policy.

13. Chapter 12. Transformation and Challenges in Turkey-EU Relations: A Case of Foreign Policy with Domestic Implications

    Çiğdem Nas

    Abstract

    Turkey-EU relations date back to 1959 when Turkey made an application to be associated with the then EEC. Since then, the relations have proceeded through different phases including association, Customs Union, candidacy and accession negotiations. Each phase went through ebbs and flows and culminated in Turkey’s further integration to the EU until the de facto freeze of the accession process after 2018. The failure of the accession negotiations led to an estrangement on the part of Turkey and diminished the EU effect on the reform process. As Turkey lost the membership perspective, its leadership became increasingly critical of the EU and several crises with EU Member States followed. The Positive Agenda proposed by the EU in 2020 aimed to revitalize the relations and thereby moderate the tension which erupted in the Eastern Mediterranean region. However, the initiative failed to produce the expected results. This chapter aims to evaluate Turkey-EU relations since the start of Turkey’s candidacy to the EU in 1999 until today by studying the main dynamics in the relations from the perspective of a foreign policy issue which is also very much related to domestic political and economic conditions.

14. Chapter 13. An Agent-Based Rationality Analysis of Turkey’s Relations with Greece

    Birol Yeşilada

    Abstract

    This chapter examines the entangled relationship between Turkey and Greece with a particular focus on Cyprus. It has never been easy for the Atlantic Alliance to coordinate and manage complex bilateral disputes between the two NATO allies. From the Aegean airspace, territorial waters, and continental shelf to the Cyprus conflict, Turkey and Greece occasionally came close to total war. The first part of the chapter reviews the historical background of Greek-Turkish disputes. The second part of the chapter provides an agent-based computer analysis of the Cyprus problem and provides significant insight into how this protracted conflict affects policy opportunities to ease tensions between Greece and Turkey.

15. Chapter 14. Turkish-American Relations: From the Catalyst of the Model Country Image to the Reference Point of Defensive Discourses

    Hasan Deniz Pekşen

    Abstract

    In this chapter, the transformation process of the Turkish–American relations in last two decades is examined. Due to the temporal overlaps in both domestic and global transformations for both countries, the effect of policy levels is questioned and ‘the vector’ of the bilateral relations aimed to be understood. Regional processes such as the Arab Spring, the BMENA Initiative and Syrian Civil War, and domestic processes such as the system change in Turkey, election of Trump Administration and the military coup attempt in Turkey taken as cases to observe how bilateral relations transformed. It is concluded that the bilateral relations remained purely strategic and the bilateral relations can swing like a pendulum from the model country image to the sanctions, depending on the presence or absence of common strategic interests.

16. Chapter 15. Transformation of Turkish Foreign Policy and Its Reflections on Turkey–Russia Relations

    Habibe Özdal

    Abstract

    Turkey and Russia have been rivals for centuries. While the political atmosphere of the Cold War had added to this rivalry, the end of the Cold War did not put an end to it automatically. The 1990s were a decade of lost opportunities for Turkey–Russia relations. The early 2000s marked the beginning of a new phase. The states adopted a more cooperative approach compared to the previous era. They built on the growing economic ties between the countries to begin a renewal in political relations. The two countries have been brought closer together by their deteriorating relationships with the West, mutual economic interests, and pragmatic realization that failure to manage some of their differences is fraught with negative consequences for both. Still, their partnership is limited as it lacks both the institutionalization and common vision to go beyond its selective nature. Therefore, bilateral relations remain fragile and inconsistent. This chapter aims to discuss the changing dynamics of Turkey–Russia relations in the last twenty years. While doing so domestic, international and regional developments that shaped bilateral relations will be addressed. Moreover, this chapter also will try to shed light on the potential areas for further cooperation and challenges that need to be considered in the future.

17. Chapter 16. Turkey and the Middle East

    Özlem Tür

    Abstract

    This article aims to analyse Turkey’s relations with the Middle East since the late 1990s. While the 1990s was dominated by conflict, the 2000s brought Turkey a series of new opportunities and possibilities for cooperation with the region. Taking both the domestic and international developments into account, the article will first look at the drivers of Turkey’s close cooperation with the Middle East in the first decade of the 2000s. The article will then analyse the challenges for Turkey in the region brought about by the Arab Uprisings, Turkey’s increasing ideological stance and growing security concerns especially in relation to the developments in Egypt and Syria in the second decade of the 2000s. While Turkey began to cooperate closely with Russia since late 2016 in the Syrian quagmire, its straining relations with the US will be discussed in this part. The article will follow by looking at the recent quest of Turkey to mend ties with the regional countries. It will discuss the continuing security challenges and possibilities for cooperation in Turkish-Middle East relations within the context of Turkey’s domestic politics as well as regional dynamics.

18. Chapter 17. Cooperation Amid Transformation: Turkey and International Organizations

    Özden Selcen Özmelek

    Abstract

    Turkey has been an active member of international organizations since the establishment of the Republic. It has a vast membership repertoire, including the Black Sea Economic Cooperation, the Council of Europe and the Asia Cooperation Dialogue, showcasing the importance it attributes to cooperation in regional and international networks. The main goal of this chapter is to explain the role and magnitude of the changes in Turkey’s international affairs during the past 20 years, particularly in its relations with international organizations. Focusing on the United Nations (UN) and the North Atlantic Organization (NATO), the chapter inquires the domestic, regional, and global circumstances that define the relationship between Turkey and these organizations.

19. Backmatter