Secularism and Muslim Democracy in Turkey

Abstract

In 2002 the Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) swept to power in Turkey. Since then it has shied away from a hard-line ideological stance in favour of a more conservative and democratic approach. In this book, M. Hakan Yavuz negotiates this ambivalence asking whether it is possible for a political party with a deeply religious ideology to liberalise and entertain democracy or whether, as he contends, radical religious groups moderate their practices and ideologies when forced to negotiate a competitive and rule-based political system. The author explores the thesis through an analysis of the rise and evolution of the AKP and its more recent 2007 election victory. The book, which tackles a number of important issues including political participation, economics and internal security, provides a masterful survey of modern Turkish and Islamic politics, which will be of interest to a broad range of readers from students to professionals and policymakers.

Batı Ülkelerinde Din-Devlet İlişkilerindeki Alternatif Modeller ve Türkiye Örneği

“…Misyoner bir devlet olan Kemalist devlet, etnik ve dini kimlikleri baskılayan homojen bir ulus devlet yaratmak için bir seri reform gerçekleştirmiş ve bu reformlar yeni bir seküler toplum oluşturmak amacıyla dini kontrol altında tutmayı amaçlamıştır. 45 Ancak bu anlayışta laiklik yalnız dini ve siyasi otoritenin ayrımı anlamına gelmemiş; daha çok homojen bir toplumu şekillendiren pozitivist bir devlet ideolojisi olarak anlaşılmıştır. Böylece Anglo-Sakon anlayıştan ayrılarak Fransız pozitivist anlayışına yaklaşan Türk laikliği, dinin devlet kontrolüne alındı-ğı ve kamusal alanın her türlü dinsel ifadeden arındırıldığı bir anlayışı benimsemiştir.…”

Turkey’s EU Quest and Political Cleavages under AKP

“…It therefore endeavours to present Turkey as a pivotal element in the formation of umma and the establishment of closer ties with Muslim countries in the Balkan, Middle East, Central Asia and Caucasus. What makes this camp remarkable is that its members are increasingly involved in an informal network whose aim is to establish an anti-EU coalition with a number of prominent scholars and political actors in Turkey, including "Kemalist-left" organizations under Dogu Perincek's leadership, some ultra-nationalist factions of the National Action Party (Yavuz 2009) and a number of left wing exponents of socialism.…”

“…This about-turn triggered a well-founded suspicion among many observers that Turkey is pursuing an assertive foreign policy and forming its own axis based on political Islamic -or neo-Ottoman if preferred -ideological premises. (Note 5) Some scholars consider this new orientation to be an advantage that could facilitate convergence between the EU and the Middle East (Yavuz 2009, Hale 2009, Kirisci 2008, and Özel 2008. In the European Union, however, the AKP government's new foreign policy appears to have provoked a generally ambivalent reaction.…”

“…Instead, policy might be understood as a result of existing opportunity structures and self-interest rather than of ideological change. Hence, although the AKP is generally portrayed as an Islamic party, it is usually thought of as very adaptable, and characterised by an endemic rationalism (Özel 2008, Kirisci 2008, Yavuz 2009, Hale 2009, Jacoby 2010, Dogan 2005, and Drorian 2005. For instance, when the AKP came to power in 2002, it took "unexpected steps to compromise with the Kemalist establishment to maintain its domestic and international legitimacy" (Yavuz 2009:10).…”

“…Thus, the AKP's loss of enthusiasm for the EU accession reform package is seen primarily as a result of internal tensions/divisions within the party over the broadening of its appeal (Yildiz 2008). This tension ebbs and flows with the ongoing wave of democratization of the Turkish state and society, and with structural, economic, cultural and political changes (Yavuz 2009). …”