Pseudo-democratic politics and populist possibilities: the rise and demise of Turkey's Refah party

British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies

Volumn 25, Issue 2, 1998, Pages 275-301

  Kamrava, Mehran ^a  

^a CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

DEMOCRACY; NATIONAL POLITICS; POLITICAL CHANGE;

TURKEY;

EID: 0032409483     PISSN: 13530194     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/13530199808705669     Document Type: Article

References (128)

1. Ilter Turan, 'The Effects of the Single Party Legacy on the Multi-Party System in Turkey'. Paper delivered at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, San Francisco, CA, August 28-September 1, 1996, pp. 16-17.
2. Some of the other major cities in which the Refah won the mayor's office in 1994 included Van, Erzurum, Rize, Trabzon, Kahramanmaras, Sivas, Kayseri, and Konya.
3. Sabah, 2 April 1994, p. 3.
4. Turkish Daily News, 25 October 1994, p. B3.
5. For a succinct discussion of some of the different types of democratic systems see, Robert Pinkney, Democracy in the Third World (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1993), especially pp. 8-11.
6. Robert Dahl, Polyarchy: Participation and Opposition (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1971), p. 8.
7. See also, Robert Dahl, Democracy and its Critics (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1989), especially pp. 232-243.
8. Guillermo O'Donnell, 'Delegative Democracy', Journal of Democracy, Vol. 5, No. 1 (January 1994), p. 59.
9. Guillermo O'Donnell, Journal of Democracy, Ibid., p. 61.
10. Other examples include Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, and, arguably, the Philippines.
11. Also noteworthy is the increasing popularity and rise of extremist Hindu nationalist individuals and parties in the 1990s in Indian politics. For an overview of this phenomenon see Robert Eric Frykenberg, "Accounting for Fundamentalism in South Asia: Ideologies and Institutions in Historical Perspective", Martin Many and Scott Appleby (eds) Accounting for Fundamentalism: The Dynamic Character of Movements (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1994), pp. 591-616.
12. Robert Dahl, Democracy and its Critics, p. 233.
13. A complete discussion of pseudo-democracies deserve much fuller treatment than space here allows. What follows are only some of the relevant highlights of these political systems, especially as they relate to Turkey. For a fuller treatment see, Mehran Kamrava, Understanding Comparative Politics: A Framework for Analysis (London: Routledge, 1996), pp. 92-95.
14. Interestingly, former Prime Minister Tansu Çiller's centre-right party is called the True Path Party (Dogru Yol - DYP).
15. Linda Richter, 'Exploring Theories of Female Leadership in South and Southeast Asia', Pacific Affairs, Vol. 63, No. 4 (Winter 1990-91), p. 535.
16. Doh Chull Shin, On the Third Wave of Democratization', World Politics, Vol. 47, No. 1 (October 1994), pp. 145-6. Party members need not necessarily be '"expedient" or "superfluous" democrats' to obstruct democracy's consolidation, though some certainly are. Most come to take democracy for granted over time, equating it with the simple ability to vote rather than seeing it as a social phenomenon with roots in civil society and popular consensus.
17. Richard Hillman, Democracy for the Privileged: Crisis and Transition in Venezuela (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1994).
18. The Chinese threat to Taiwan and the separatist Moro movement in the Philippines could be added to this list as well. An important exception is Spain, by all accounts a polyarchy, which is nevertheless faced with the separatism of the Basques.
19. Georg Sorensen, Democracy and Democratization (Boulder, CO: Westview, 1993), p. 47.
20. The Kurdish issue in the context of Turkish politics has been exhaustively examined in a number of articles. For a recent example see, Eric Rouleau, 'Turkey: Beyond Atatürk', Foreign Policy, No. 103, Summer 1996, pp. 72-76.
21. Elite commitment to democratic values is not always a certainty even in long-established democracies. See Paul Sniderman, Joseph Fletcher, Peter Russell, Philip Tetlock, and Brian Gains, "The Fallacy of Democratic Elitism: Elite Competition and Commitment to Civil Liberties", The British Journal of Political Science, Vol. 21, p. 352-353.
22. Ilter Turan, 'The Effects of the Single Party Legacy on the Multi-Party System in Turkey', p. 22.
23. Salvador Giner, 'Civil Society and its Future', in John Hall (ed.) Civil Society: Theory, History, Comparison (Cambridge: Polity, 1995), p. 304.
24. Andrew Mango, 'The Turkish Model', Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 29, No. 4 (October 1993), pp. 726-727.
25. Ilkay Sunar and Sabri Sayari, 'Democracy in Turkey: Problems and Prospects', in Guillermo O'Donnell, Philippe Schmitter, and Laurence Whitehead (eds) Transitions from Authoritarian Rule: Southern Europe (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1986), p. 186.
26. Turkish Daily News, 26 December 1994, B1.
27. See article by Leyla Zana, one of the DEP members jailed, in The International Herald Tribune, 7 December 1994.
28. The government's approach to the Kurdish problem has met with the general approval of most Turkish voters, especially those in Ankara, Istanbul, Izmir, and other major cities in the west. See, for example, Ismet G. Imset, 'Southeast Burden to Grow', Turkish Probe, 8 April 1994 pp. 12-15.
29. Foreign Broadcast Information Service: Western Europe (hereafter FBIS: WEU) 27 July 1994, p. 43.
30. Feroz Ahmad, The Making of Modern Turkey (London: Routledge, 1993), pp. 190-194.
31. Feroz Ahmad, The Making of Modern Turkey ( Ibid., pp. 202-203.
32. Feroz Ahmad, The Making of Modern Turkey ( Ibid., pp. 219-220.
33. Walter Weiker, The modernization of Turkey: From Atatürk to the Present Day (London: Holmes & Meier, 1981), pp. 5-7.
34. Walter Weiker, The modernization of Turkey: From Atatürk to the Present Day ( Ibid., p. 21.
35. Feroz Ahmad, The Making of Modern Turkey ..., p. 187.
36. Ergun Ozbudun, 'Turkey: Crisis, Interruptions, and Reequilibrium' in Larry Diamond, Juan J. Linz, and Seymour Martin Lipset (eds) Politics In Developing Countries: Comparing Experiences with Democracy (Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 1990), p. 209.
37. Milliyet, 12 May 1994, p. 16.
38. See, for example, The Turkish Daily News, 6 June 1994, p. 1. The collapse of PM Çiller's government in October 1995 and its eventual replacement by an RP-led coalition was largely the result of in-fighting within Çiller's fragile coalition, especially between the prime minister and her main coalition partner Mesut Yilmaz, leader of the ANAP.
39. For an accessible and concise account of Turkey's domestic geopolitics see, Robert Held, Middle East Patterns: Places, Peoples, and Politics (Boulder, CO: Westview, 1989), chapter 21.
40. An important example of such a policy is the massive development project known as the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP), designed to provide irrigation systems and electricity to the southeastern cities of Diyarbakir, Gazi Antep, Sanli Urfa, Adiyaman, Mardin, Siirt, Batman, and Sirnak.
41. See Philip Robins. 'The Overlord State: Turkish Policy and the Kurdish Issue', Journal of International Affairs, Vol. 69, No. 4, October 1993, pp. 657-676.
42. See, for example, The Turkish Daily News, 7 June 1994, p. 1.
43. The 1970s saw intense rivalry between Demirel and Bülent Ecevit, also a perennial political activist. Ecevit was first elected to the parliament in 1961 as a CHP (Republican Popular Party) candidate, and in 1974 became Turkey's president for a brief period. He regained the presidency during the turbulent years of 1977 to 1979. In 1984, he founded the centre-right Democratic Left Party (DSP), which he currently heads.
44. Turkish Daily News, 4 May 1994, p. 3;
45. Turkish Daily News, 10 October 1995, p. 1.
46. Milliyet, 25 June 1995, p. 15.
47. Haluk Sahin and Asu Aksoy, 'Global Media and Cultural Identity in Turkey', Journal of Communication, Vol. 43, Spring 1993, pp. 31-32.
48. John Waterbury, 'Export-Led Growth and the Centre-Right Coalition in Turkey', Comparative Politics, Vol. 24, No. 2 (January 1992), pp. 128-133. Newly Turkey's leftist parties, none of which are represented in the parliament (due to their limited appeal among the electorate), include the Workers Party (IP), the Socialist Union Party (SBP), the Democracy Party (DcP), the Socialist Party of Turkey (STP), the Socialist Revolutionary Party (SDP), and the illegal United Communist Party of Turkey (TBKP).
49. The CHP was originally founded by Atatürk and was in power until 1950. In the 1970s the party was headed by Ecevit, who later criticized the CHP for being too closely associated with the military and formed the DSP instead. The CHP was dissolved in 1981 but reactivated in 1992 by dissident members of the Social Democratic People's Party (SHP), which it absorbed in February 1995.
50. See, for example, an interview with Semra Özal in, The Turkish Daily News, 1 June 1994, p. B1.
51. See, for example, Tayyar Safak, 'The American Finger', Yeni Gunaydin, 22 October 1995, p. 3, in which Çiller is accused of being an American puppet. See also,
52. The Turkish Daily News, May 30, 1994, p. 1.
53. Milliyet, 25 June 1995, p. 15.
54. Turkish Daily News, 25 October 1994, p. B3.
55. Turkish Daily News, 1994, p. B3. Ibid.
56. Turkish Daily News, 1994, p. B3. Ibid.
57. Hurriyet, 17 March 1996, p. 24.
58. Hurriyet, 13 October 1994, p. 18.
59. Hurriyet, 12 October 1994, p. 19.
60. In fact, Asilturk, the RP's current secretary general, claims to hold a world record as the longest serving secretary general of any party in the world, having first ascended to his position in 1972. See Turkish Daily News, 23 November 1994, p. B1.
61. In the 1970s, both the National Salvation Party (NSP) and the Nationalist Action Party (MHP) were alleged to use their participation in the government to place supporters in the bureaucracy.
62. Feroz Ahmad, 'Politics and Islam in Modern Turkey', Middle Eastern Studies, Vol. 27, No. 1, 2 January 1991, p. 17.
63. The December 1995 election results for the major political parties were as follows: Refah Party 21.5%; Motherland Party 19.5%; True Path Party 19%; Democratic Left Party 14.5%; Republican People's Party 11%. Combined, the smaller parties gained 14.5% of the vote. FBIS:WEU, 26 December 1995, p. 19.
64. Milliyet, 27 February 1994, p. 19.
65. Milliyet, 15 February 1994, p. 17.
66. All of the information on the Just Order contained in this section comes from the English translation of a 43-page booklet published in Turkish by the Refah Party (with no name of author or date and place of publication) under the title Adil Duzen as printed in FBIS: WEU, 'Turkey: Welfare Party Explains its "Just Order" ', 5 December 1995, pp. 1-15.
67. FBIS: WEU, 9 August 1994, p. 58.
68. FBIS: WEU, 21 September 1995, p. 29.
69. Milliyet, 29 November 1995, p. 7.
70. Quoted in FBIS: WEU, 10 May 1994, p. 73.
71. FBIS: WEU, 5 December 1995, p. 28.
72. FBIS: WEU, 5 December 1995, p. 28. In an interview with the Lebanese magazine Al-Diyar, another RP official voiced similar sentiments, claiming that 'the West has brought us to this juncture. Every infant draws his first breath in this country with 50 million Turkish liras of debts to the West ... The West is always working against the Islamic world through NATO, the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and other international forums.' Quoted in
73. FBIS: WEU, 10 May 1994, p. 73.
74. Nehir, April-May 1995, pp. 14-15.
75. Semih Idiz, 'Refah's Foreign Policy Outlook', Turkish Probe, 1 April 1994, p. 7.
76. Turkish Daily News, 23 November 1994, p. B1.
77. Turkish Daily News, 1994, p. B1. Ibid.
78. FBIS: WEU, 10 May 1994, p. 74.
79. Aydinlik, 19 August 1995, p. 8.
80. FBIS: WEU, 6 September 1995, p. 29.
81. Turkish Daily News, 25 August 1994, p. 8.
82. Milliyet, 10 April 1994, p. 23.
83. Milliyet, 1994, p. 23. Ibid.
84. Milliyet, 1994, p. 23. Ibid.
85. Nevertheless, some of the RP's deputies from the eastern cities of Van and Sanliurfa in addition to Ankara mayor Melih Gokcek have been reported to differ sharply with Erbakan on the Kurdish issue and to criticize his lack of more efforts for the region, see Aydinlik, 19 August 1991, p. 8.
86. For a review of some of the tensions between the RP and the Turkish military see, Cumhuriyet, 31 March 1996, p. 3.
87. In a memorandum dated 15 February 1996, the Interior Ministry was said to have ordered Gendarmerie units to remove from their premises the minarets that were constructed out of discarded barrels welded together, and, additionally, prohibited them from having prayers read through loudspeakers. See Turkiye, 24 March 1996, p. 15.
88. Hurriyet, 28 March 1996, p. 23.
89. Hurriyet, 1996, p. 23. Ibid.
90. For a detailed account of the RP's overtures to the military following this incident see, Turkish Daily News, 5 April 1996, pp. 1, 3.
91. Yeni Gunaydin, 1 August 1995, p. 8.
92. For Erbakan's denial that the armed forced would oppose an RP-led government see, FBIS: WEU, 1 March 1996, pp. 30-31.
93. Yeni Gunaydin, 1 August 1995, p. 8.
94. Turkish Daily News, 5 April 1996, p. 3.
95. Turkiye, 3 November 1995, p. 16.
96. Erbakan continued his overtures to the army after becoming the prime minister, pledging to work 'hand in hand, day and night, with our heroic Army.' Quoted in The Christian Science Monitor, October 18, 1996, p. 7.
97. Hurriyet, 7 June 1995, p. 37.
98. Hurriyet, 1995, p. 37. Ibid.
99. Hurriyet, 1995, p. 37. Ibid.
100. According to an enthusiastic female member of the Refah, 'we at the RP have the biggest and best organized women's political group in Turkey'. She also claimed that the party had as many as 300,000 female members in Istanbul alone, although that figure appears to have been a gross exaggeration. See, Turkish Daily News, 15 December 1996, p. 3.
101. Milliyet, 13 April 1994, p. 21.
102. Milliyet, 1994, p. 21. Ibid.
103. Milliyet, 12 May 1994, p. 16.
104. FBIS: WEU, 16 October 1995, p. 28.
105. FBIS: WEU, 27 September 1994, p. 44.
106. FBIS: WEU, 16 September 1994, p. 55.
107. Milliyet, 10 April 1994, p. 23.
108. Milliyet, 10 April 1994, p. 23.
109. Turkiye, 3 November 1995, p. 16.
110. Milliyet, 10 April 1994, p. 23.
111. Milliyet, 1994, p. 23. Ibid.
112. Milliyet, 1994, p. 23. Ibid.
113. Milliyet, 1994, p. 23. Ibid.
114. Milliyet, 11 April 1994, p. 21.
115. For a discussion of personalism in Middle Eastern politics see, James Bill and Robert Springborg, Politics in the Middle East, 4th ed (New York: Harper Collins, 1994), pp. 136-137.
116. Türkes has been one, of Turkey's perennial right-wing political figures, often described by the Turkish press as 'fascist' and 'dangerous'. He was one of the leaders of the 1960 coup and currently leads the ultranationalist National Action Party - MHP.
117. Milliyet, 10 April 1994, p. 23.
118. FBIS: WEU, 23 November 1994, p. 57.
119. Milliyet, 10 April 1994, p. 23.
120. Milliyet, 1994, p. 23. Ibid.
121. Milliyet, 13 September 1994, p. 4.
122. Milliyet, 12 April 1995, p. 21.
123. Turkiye, 3 November 1995, p. 16.
124. For a profile of Tayyip Erdogan, Istanbul's mayor, see, 'The Mild Face of Radical Islam?', The Christian Science Monitor, 13 June, 1996, p. 6.
125. Turkish Daily News, May 30, 1994, p. 2. Although this issue was first raised more than two years ago now, most of the brothels in Istanbul and in other cities with RP mayors have yet to be closed down. A few have, nevertheless, been shut down and turned into bookstores (featuring general rather than specifically religious books).
126. Rusen Çakir, Ne Seriat Ne Demokrasi: Refah Partisini Anlamak (Neither Sharia Nor Democracy: Understanding the Refah Party) (Istanbul: Metis Guncel, 1994), pp. 82-83.
127. An RP member is alleged to have laundered large sums of money the party collected as donations to Bosnia, allegations denied by the Refah's top brass. Also, an estimated TL 38 trillion was reported to be in the party's bank accounts. See Turkish Daily News, 23 November 1994, p. B1.
128. The Christian Science Monitor, 18 October 1996, p. 7.