Oppositional usages of Europeanization in Turkish constitution-making: discussions on religious freedom

Abstract

The European Union has traditionally played an anchoring role in Turkey, pushing the Republic towards the enhancement of fundamental rights and freedoms. However, the decreasing credibility of the project for EU membership after 2005 has gradually led to selective reforms being introduced, and most recently to de-Europeanization. Against this quickly changing background, this paper seeks to investigate the usages of Europeanization by domestic political actors during the discussions on the recently failed constitution-making process (2011)(2012)(2013). It specifically focuses on deliberations over religious freedom, and argues that Europeanization has continued to serve as the normative context in constitution-writing.

Governing urban diversity in Istanbul: Pragmatic and non-discriminatory solutions of governance initiatives in response to politicisation of diversity

“…The post-1980s era was characterised by structural adjustment and neo-liberal policies in Turkey. The new constitution adopted in 1982 was in favour of the free market economy, but restricted the rights of different groups with ethnic backgrounds and religions that differed from the majority (Yanasmayan, 2017). That said, the use of the term “diversity” was mainly associated with socioeconomic differences in this period, as the gaps between the rich and the poor, and the globalised professionals and downgraded labour, widened in Istanbul, now a neo-liberal-postmodern-global city (Grillo, 2000).…”