THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
An Online Journal of Political Commentary & Analysis
Volume XII, Issue # 204, September 26, 2010
Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
Government Committed to & Acting in Accord with Conservative Principles
Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity
TURKEY'S FUTURE
By Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi
THE POLITICAL FUTURE OF TURKEY: WHERE TURKEY IS HEADING UNDER THE RULE OF ERDOGAN & THE AKP --
GENUINE CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY, OR AUTHORITARIAN DICTATORSHIP -- GUARANTEE OF THE BASIC LIBERTIES OF
THE INDIVIDUAL CITIZEN, OR UNLIMITED RULE BY A TYRANNICAL ISLAMIST MAJORITY, WITH NO PROTECTION OF
MINORITY RIGHTS -- MEMBERSHIP IN THE EUROPEAN UNION & ALLIANCE WITH THE WEST, OR A STRENGTHENING OF
TURKEY'S TIES WITH IRAN, SYRIA, & OTHER ENEMIES OF THE U.S.A. & THE WEST
FULL STORY:
Where is Turkey heading under Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party, the Justice and Development Party (AKP)? The
question becomes urgent following the approval of a constitutional referendum on September 12, 2010, with a majority
of 58% in favor, as opposed to 42% against.
In theory, the referendum is, in many ways, an advancement of constitutional democratic rights in compliance with
membership requirements of the European Union (EU). For instance, the revision of Article Ten upholds the principle of
gender equality, whilst Article Twenty now ensures the protection of personal data and the right to privacy. It was for
these reasons that the Enlargement Commissioner of the EU, Stefan Fule, praised the constitutional reforms as "a step in
the right direction ... towards fully complying with the accession criteria." Meanwhile, the European Parliamentary
Deputy Richard Howitt affirmed that the referendum was a "sign of the population's support for reforms that will prepare
the country for European Union membership."
In practice, however, the AKP is not only failing to implement the principles of constitutional democracy as outlined in
parts of the referendum, but it also appears to be reversing them. For example, though aforementioned Article Ten
assures gender equality, the Turkish women's rights group IRIS points out that, in 1994, 15.1% of women were in
executive civil service positions, whereas, under the AKP, the figure has declined and now stands at 11.8%. Indeed, no
women serve amongst the nine main bureaucrats in the Turkish Justice Ministry, whilst, in the high courts, whose
judges have hitherto not been appointed by the government, there is a large number of female jurists.
Moreover, the percentage of women in the workforce has dropped from 34.1% in 1990 to 21.6% this year, something that
cannot be explained solely by urbanization trends. This seems to fit in with Erdogan's philosophy that a woman's role is
to stay at home and have at least three children.
Similarly, AKP rule has seen the increasing curtailment of freedom of expression and the right to privacy. With huge tax
fines imposed on media outlets critical of the AKP, such as Dogan, and the imprisonment of journalists on
allegations of coup plots, Turkey dropped twenty places in Reporters Without Borders' "Press Freedom Index" to 122nd
out of 175 countries in 2009. In addition, the number of wiretapped phone calls, primarily against political opponents,
has grown by around 50% annually since 2007 to a figure of 142,135 in 2009.
Consequently, it is not surprising that there was a sharp regional divide over the referendum. In all the prosperous
provinces along the Mediterranean and Aegean coastlines, as well as Thrace, which contains the city of Istanbul, a
majority voted against the referendum. In these places, where the influence of secularism is strongest, voters generally
did not view the referendum as progress for constitutional democracy, but as a means for the AKP to implement further
an Islamist and authoritarian agenda, with the military and courts, both traditional upholders of secularism in Turkey,
now curtailed. The former has been silenced owing to allegations of a coup plot back in March, 2010; the latter can now
be reshaped by the AKP. Hence, the party now controls the legislative, executive, and judiciary branches of the Turkish
government and, in effect, has unchecked power, amounting to de facto majoritarian dictatorship. Nonetheless, the real
test to ascertain what bodes for Turkey's future lies in the AKP's plans to draw up a new constitution that is, like the
referendum, supposed to be a further step towards EU membership.
Thus, will Turkey truly uphold constitutional democratic principles the AKP claims to represent and head down the path
of accession to the EU, or will it become an illiberal and unconstitutional state more akin to Russia and strengthen its
current tilt towards Iran and Syria? The present situation appears to suggest the latter, but that path would be of sad
consequence for those inside Turkey, as well as for Western policymakers. Given the violence that broke out between
AKP supporters and opponents in the days prior to the referendum, an unusual occurrence in political affairs in Turkey,
further aggravation through majoritarianism of already deep tensions between the secular and religious would have
terrible implications for Turkey's future. Meanwhile, for the West, retaining Turkey as a key U.S. and NATO ally is of
paramount importance, yet such an asset would be lost if the country becomes a fully fledged illiberal, Islamist state.
Nevertheless, it is not inevitable for Turkey to transform into an authoritarian, Islamic dictatorship. If the EU and other
Western nations make it clear to the AKP that serious consideration of Turkish membership in the EU will require
implementation on the ground of the constitutional democratic notions it purports to espouse (reversal of which is
unacceptable) and highlight the risk of provoking secularist resentment, then one of two favorable outcomes could
well arise. Either the AKP will abandon its Islamist tendencies, or, in next year's elections, many Turkish voters will
turn to the secular, pro-European, and constitutional democratic Republican People's Party, now led by the charismatic
Social Democrat Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
LINKS TO RELATED TOPICS:
Turkey, the Middle East, & the U.S.A.
American Foreign Policy -- The Middle East
Middle East: Arabs, Arab States,
& Their Middle Eastern Neighbors
Islamism & Jihadism -- The Threat of Radical Islam
Page Three
Page Two
Page One
International Politics & World Disorder:
War, Peace, & Geopolitics in the Real World:
Foreign Affairs & U.S. National Security
Page Two
Page One
Islamist Terrorist Attacks on the U.S.A.
Osama bin Laden & the Islamist Declaration of War
Against the U.S.A. & Western Civilization
Islamist International Terrorism &
U.S. Intelligence Agencies
U.S. National Security Strategy
CONSTITUTIONAL DEMOCRACY & OTHER POLITICAL REGIMES
Modern Constitutional Democracy:
Fundamental Character & Essential Ingredients
Constitutionalism: The First Essential Ingredient
of Modern Constitutional Democracy
Dictatorship: The Opposite of Constitutionalism
Representative Democracy: The Second Essential Ingredient
of Modern Constitutional Democracy
Direct Democracy & Representative Democracy
Political Culture & Modern Constitutional Democracy
Modern Constitutional Democracy:
Summary & Conclusion
Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi is a student at Oxford University and an intern at the Middle East Forum.
The foregoing article by Aymenn Jawad Al-Tamimi was originally published in American Thinker, September 25,
2010, and can be found on the Internet website maintained by the Middle East Forum, a foreign policy think tank which
seeks to define and promote American interests in the Middle East, defining U.S. interests to include fighting radical
Islam, working for Palestinian Arab acceptance of the State of Israel, improving the management of U.S. efforts to promote
constitutional democracy in the Middle East, reducing America's energy dependence on the Middle East, more robustly
asserting U.S. interests vis-à-vis Saudi Arabia, and countering the Iranian threat.
(URL: http://www.meforum.org/2753/turkey-future)
Republished with Permission of the Middle East Forum
Reprinted from the Middle East Forum News
mefnews@meforum.org (MEF NEWS)
September 26, 2010
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THE PROGRESSIVE CONSERVATIVE, USA
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Dr. Almon Leroy Way, Jr., Editor
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Conservative Government Ensures a Nation's Strength, Progress, & Prosperity