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Ankara’s Quiet Revolution
All this suggests that Turkey is going through a quiet revolution. While a ban against the AKP is an undesirable outcome for a democracy, the alternative might not be more favorable. In addition to its influence over the media and its emerging support base in the business community, the AKP fully controls the legislative and executive branches. Moreover, the party now has the ability to mobilize a public image that trumps the judiciary, and a chance to rule Turkey with majority public support, unrestrained by checks and balances. The courts may decide soon about the party's fate, but the jury remains out on the future of Turkish democracy.
Cagaptay, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, is the author of “Secularism and Foreign Policy in Turkey: New Elections, Troubling Trends.”
© 2008
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Member Comments
Posted By: nyoped @ 04/10/2008 1:41:55 PM
Comment: AKP knows that it is in its interest to violate the secularism principle of the Constitution. Maybe that's why it has been relentlessly abusing people's faith. The more laws they break the more they become popular. Are the courts supposed to sit idle and watch this?
Posted By: ilhan.erhan @ 04/09/2008 7:28:12 AM
Comment: and by the way, may be you've wondered my opinion about this issue. I am none of them neither Secularist, nor Kemalist nor AKPist nor extremist nor anything else. :))
Posted By: ilhan.erhan @ 04/09/2008 7:25:18 AM
Comment: you entitle 'Secularim' as a religion. That's seems odd and unbelievable. Any religion does NOT require anybody to adhere itself. Also, as far as I know, religion is something that orders DOs or DON'T DOs to people, to NOT GOVERNMENT and STATE. What we have to focus on honestly is that 'What symbolizes what, and What is the reason of fear of these people that are anxious about Secularism thing. As descendents of Ottoman Empire that lacks securalism, we SHOULD KNOW, UNDERSTAND and ANALYZE the state itself , its judicial institutions, its effects on science, art and technology. I do not force anybody about being an Secularist, Kemalist, AKPist or Islam-extremist. But it is the core issue that we cannot disregard or disfigure facts, history and conjuncture.