Historical Background

Abstract

Turkey presents an interesting case, perhaps a unique one, for students of comparative constitutional law. It is the first Muslim-majority country that combines a reasonably stable democratic regime with a thoroughly secular legal system. It has had a long, although checkered, experience in constitutional government.¹ The first Ottoman-Turkish Constitution dates back to 1876, at about the same time that many European countries adopted their constitutions. Since then Turkey has adopted four constitutions, those of 1921, 1924, 1961, and 1982 (which is currently in force), not to mention many radical amendments. In Samuel Huntington’s terms² Turkey is a “second wave” democracy since it made a transition to a competitive multiparty system in 1946 after a long period (1925–1946) of established single-party rule. And yet, its democratic consolidation lags behind many “third wave” democracies, notably those of Southern, Central, and Eastern Europe. Freedom House, one of the leading democracy rating organizations, still lists Turkey in the “partly free” category, or as a “semi-democracy.” Turkey’s democratic experience has been interrupted three times by military interventions—in 1960, 1971, and 1980—not to mention the so-called postmodern coup of 1997. It still is in search of a truly liberal and fully democratic Constitution. However, these efforts have encountered major obstacles as will be spelled out in Chapter 9.