Turkey is a cross continental country located in the South Eastern Europe and Western Asia. The majority of the population of Turkey are Muslims, and the main spoken language is Turkish, but 18% are Kurds and Zazas, also. Though the country goes by the name of a parliamentary representative democracy, there is some doubt as to what extent Turkey is democratic. What follows is a brief look at where these doubts come from, and whether they are substantial or not.
The doubts come from, in part, the fact that, in the past, there have been many cases of the military interrupting democracy, and on some occasions, even taking power. The first of these cases occurred in 1960, when the military, led by General Cemal Grsel initiated a coupe d’tat, and forced President Celal Bayar, prime minister Adnan Menderes, and his cabinet, to step down. The military governed Turkey until 1965.
In 1971, again, the military directly intervened, offering the President an ultimatum which resulted in a change of government. This has been called “Guided Democracy”. The most serious departure from democratic rule occurred in 1980, however, when the military once again took control of the country, claiming that they were responding to domestic political anarchy.
During this period, extremists from both ends of the political scale resorted to murder, and other violent ways of expressing their wants. A new constitution was agreed upon by public referendum, however, in 1982, and so the return to democratic rule had begun. On the 6th of November 1983, a general election gave democratic power to the Motherland party, lead by the prime minister Turgot zal.
This government has been relatively stable ever since, but still Turkey falls just short of a full democracy. This is due to article 301, which makes it illegal to insult Turkey. This article is often cited when charging writers, or other kinds of artists, for mentioning or commenting the Armenian genocide in a way the government doesn’t approve of.
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