PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The years 1960-90 coincide ·with a very crucial phase in the history of democratic process of Turkish Republic. Turkish polity and society underwent significant transformation in this· phase that made an impact on party politics as well. Democracy and party politics are not new phenomena in Turkey. Though the politics of representation began as early as late nineteenth century, the Turkish experience in democracy in real sense started with the beginning of the multi-party politics in 1945. The first free and fair election was held in 1950 when a new party, the Democratic Party, achieved a massive parliamentary victory. Since 1950 a number of significant developments have taken place in Turkish democracy. periodically. other.
Free general and local elections have been held
People of periphery and the centre have come closer to each
Common voters have become aware of their growing political
importance in party politics.
Several new political parties with their new
leaders have entered the competitive environment of Turkish democracy. Turkey since then has adopted two Constitutions,in 1961 and 1982. Till1980 two political parties, the Democratic Party and its new incarnation, the Justice Party and the Republican People's Party remained major political forces in Turkish politics. The former represented liberal Kemalists who were critical
of Ataturk's authoritarianism and 'statism'. The latter was the continuation of the Kemalist People's Party. Though during the 1960s and 1970s some smaller parties emerged stronger but could not compete with the Justice Party and the Republican People's Party. Major political parties, the RPP and the JP, made serious attempts for their revitalization, and mutual accommodation and adjustment. elitism declined and consolidated 'state-elites' fragmented.
Political
Mter the 1983
general elections, a new liberal political party, the Motherland Party ofTurgut (hal, emerged as the ruling party. However, some developments created obstacles in the smooth working of Turkish democracy.
These were the exploitation of religion, politics of
ideological extremism, political violence and political polarization. Military intervention is also said to have disturbed the smooth functioning of democracy. Three military interventions in Turkish politics whetted my appetite to examine and understand Turkish experiment in democracy and party politics. This thesis is an attempt to understand the dynamics of the Turkish politics and society. In the preparation of this work both primary and secondary sources have been used. These include published and unpublished papers, documents, reports, proceedings, speeches, declarations, interviews, books, articles, journals, periodicals, seminar papers and newspapers. The study has been
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divided into six chapters. Chapter one is an account of historical background which is important for an understanding of pre-1960 political developments in Turkey.
This chapter begins with the First Constitution of 1876 which
advocated for a constitutional or limited monarchy and ends with a brief description of the authoritarian style of the Democratic Party. The second chapter discusses the military intervention of 1960, the 1961 Constitution, the elections, the politics of coalition and the army memorandum of 12 March 1971. The third chapter deals with the establishment of 'above-party' governments, elections, phase of political instability and weak coalition governments. It also highlights the activities of extremist ideological forces, divisive elements and destructive politics of polarization. The fourth chapter begins with a brief discussion of the causes of the 1980 military take over. Then it deals with the Constitution of 1982, the general elections of 1983 and 1987 as well as the local elections of 1984 and 1989. It also highlights the specific period of Turgut Ozal and challenges to democracy in Turkey. The fifth chapter discusses some concepts of dynamics of Turkish polity and society. These are democracy, secularism and the role of military. It also examines secular trends and military interventions to assess the strength of political culture and democracy in Turkey. The conclusion is an objective assessment of the issues and problems
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discussed in the previous chapters. The support of a number of individuals and institutions has been crucial in the accomplishment of this work.
I express any deep gratitude to my
supervisor Professor Mohammad Sadiq Chairman of the Centre for West Asian and African Studies, who painstakingly guided me at every stage of my research work. His continuous and scholarly supervision became the biggest source of strength throughout my research career. I have a deep regard for Professor Rasheeduddin Khan who always encouraged me in my academic pursuit. While I was in Turkey for about three months I had the privilege of meeting reputed Turkish professors, scholars and party leaders who enhanced my knowledge and understanding of Turkish democracy and party politics. They contributed through fruitful discussions and allowed me to share their views on crucial aspects of Turkish democracy.
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I feel specially obliged to
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a.
Professors Sina Ak~in, Ergun Ozbudun, liter Turan, Tuncer KaramusXfaoglu, TUrkkayaAtaov, Ilber Ortayli, Yavuz Sabuncu, Korkiit Borat"ov, Osman Okyar, Binnaz Toprak, Metin Heper, Ahmet Evin, Levent Koker, Faruk Sonmezoglu,
,
Ahmet Makal, Mumtaz TUrk"one, Hikmet Ozdemir and Fusun Sasmaz. , I am also thankful to the library staff of the Faculty of Political Science, Ankara University, and the National Library of Ankara. I am also indebted to Mr.Hilmi 9elik, Director of the Turkish Grand National Assembly Library, Ankara. Ms.Sevgi Korkut, of the same library,
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also helped me in collecting the relevant material. I am grateful to her. I also remember with gratitude the sympathetic attitude of my Turkish
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colleagues- Ms. Emel Topcu, Dr.Omer Ak.yol, Dr.Yavuz Bardak, Ahmet Yildiz, ~ Serkan Sancak and Baris Bicimseven.
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The Turkish Embassy in New Delhi and the Indian Embassy in Ankara also helped me on many occasions. I express my sincere thanks to Mr. K. Gajendra Singh, Indian Ambassador to Turkey, for his encouragement and hospitality. I am thankful to my friends G.C.Pal, Kumar Suresh,. Ajay K.Singh, Pundarika, Ashraf, Rafiullah, Ajay Darshan Bahera, Fateh Faiyaz with whom I used to discuss the research-related issues. debt for the completion of this study.
To my family I owe great
They have patiently tolerated my
preoccupation with research and concomitant neglect of them. I am especially thankful to my wife, Roquaiya Shaheen who took upon herself the task of proof reading. Her moral support always encouraged me. Continuous cooperation of the staff of JNU Library deserves my thanks and appreciation. Finally,
I
acknowledge
the
attention
Mr.T.M.Varghese for his meticulous typing.
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and
competence
of
