Democracy in Turkey: Has it achieved European norms?

The implementation process of the Copenhagen political criteria can
never end, argue Senem Aydin
and E. Fuat Keyman in their article published
by the Centre for European Policy Studies. As
and when Turkey begins accession negotiations with the EU, both the
Union and Turkey should continue their efforts to achieve a more
democratic Turkey, mainly through a credible policy of
conditionality on the part of the EU and through a more effective
implementation of the Copenhagen political criteria on the part of
Turkey. 

This combination has in recent years led to substantial
improvements in Turkish democracy. The reforms that have so far
been undertaken have addressed long-criticised aspects of Turkish
democracy, particularly the role of the military in politics,
respect for human rights, protection of minorities and the judicial
system. 

Significant achievements have been made in legislative and
institutional terms, but there is still much to be done regarding
implementation. Given the pace of reforms in the last three years,
the remaining legislative and institutional tasks could be achieved
in a relatively short period of time by the Turkish authorities.
What requires more energy and more time are efforts geared towards
changing the mindsets of the public officials, in particular the
police force, bureaucracy, military, public prosecutors, the judges
and the citizenry of the country. Further training and education
coupled with the continued and credible application of EU
conditionality would secure the path of reform which in the eyes of
many is as revolutionary as those achieved by Mustafa Kemal and his
followers in the 1920s and 1930s. 

Turkey’s identity and its compatibility with Europeans norms of
democracy and economic modernisation should be judged on the basis
of an objective, historical and analytical reading of modern
Turkey. Even though Turkey today faces the problem of democratic
consolidation and societal modernisation, on the basis of its
political identity as a secular parliamentary democracy, it is
compatible with European norms of democracy and liberal economy.
That is why the more Turkey has attempted to meet the Copenhagen
criteria and its implementation, the more it has consolidated its
democracy and made its modernity liberal, plural and
multi-cultural. Moreover, Turkey has achieved this in a short
period not only because of the strong political will to do so, but
also because it has already established the institutions and norms
of democracy and modernity.

To read the full text of the article, visit the CEPS website.