Turkey between Democracy and Authoritarianism

Since the 1980 military coup in Turkey, much of the history and politics of the country can be described as a struggle between democracy and authoritarianism. In this accessible account of the country's politics, society and economics, the authors delve into the causes and processes of what has been called a democratic 'backsliding'. In order to explore this, Yesim Arat and Sevket Pamuk, two of Turkey's leading social scientists, focus on the mutual distrust between the secular and Islamist groups. They argue that the attempts by a secular coalition to circumscribe the Islamists in power had a boomerang effect. The Islamists struck back first in self-defence, then in pursuit of authoritarian power. With chapters on urbanization, Kurdish nationalism, women's movements, economic development and foreign relations, this book offers a comprehensive and lively examination of contemporary Turkey and its role on the global stage.

1. Introduction; 2. A long wave of urbanization; 3. From military rule to civilian politics; 4. Islamists in power; 5. Uneven economic development and domestic politics; 6. The Kurdish Revolt: nationalism and ethnicity; 7. Between Europe and the Middle East; 8. Women's call for democracy; 9. Conclusion.

Yesim Arat is Professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Bogaziçi Üniversitesi, Istanbul. She is the author of The Patriarchal Paradox: Women Politicians in Turkey (1989), Rethinking Islam and Liberal Democracy: Islamist Women in Turkish Politics (2005), Violence against Women in Turkey (2007, with Ayse Gül Altinay, the Turkish version received the 2008 Pen Duygu Asena Award) and numerous articles on women and also Turkish politics. She served as a board member in various academic journals and also in UNRISD. She is a member of the Science Academy, Turkey.
Sevket Pamuk is Professor of Economics and Economic History at Bogaziçi Üniversitesi, Istanbul. He is the author of many books and journal articles on Ottoman, Middle East and European economic history, most recently of Uneven Centuries: Economic History of Turkey since 1820 (2018). He was Professor and Chair in Contemporary Turkish Studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science from 2008 to 2013. Pamuk was President of the European Historical Economics Society, President of the Asian Historical Economics Society, Editor of the European Economic History Review and is a member of Academia Europea and Science Academy, Turkey.