{"id":1405,"date":"2015-04-02T10:34:14","date_gmt":"2015-04-02T10:34:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/covcasbulletin.info\/?p=1405"},"modified":"2015-04-03T11:02:48","modified_gmt":"2015-04-03T11:02:48","slug":"hopes-for-democracy-eu-integration-fade-in-erdogans-turkey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/covcasbulletin.info\/?p=1405","title":{"rendered":"Hopes for Democracy, EU Integration Fade in Erdogan\u2019s Turkey"},"content":{"rendered":"

By FRIDA GHITIS*
\nWorld Politics Review<\/em><\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t very long ago that Turkey was held up as an example of a country in the midst of a great democratic transformation\u2014a nation steadily enhancing democratic norms, finding easy coexistence between Islam and democracy and moving optimistically in the direction of membership in the European Union.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Today, it\u2019s difficult to find many people expressing hope for Turkey\u2019s prospect of joining the EU. Even more troubling, there is a growing consensus that Turkey is visibly and rapidly drifting away from democracy.<\/p>\n

The driving force behind the country\u2019s dramatic change of direction is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, leader of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), who served more than a decade as prime minister and, when constitutionally barred from remaining in power, sought a new path, becoming Turkey\u2019s first directly elected president last year<\/a>. It may seem counterintuitive, but Erdogan\u2019s hollowing of democratic practices has been made possible by the support of a large segment of Turkish society, which has handed him victory at the polls. However, his electoral legitimacy is not proof that he plans to preserve a real democracy.<\/p>\n

Erdogan is already transforming the previously ceremonial position of president into a much more powerful one. His plan is to leverage the upcoming June elections to make the change official, obtaining parliamentary approval for a highly centralized presidential system.<\/p>\n

The idea, critics say, is to create a \u201cSuper Presidency,\u201d in the mold of Russia\u2019s Vladimir Putin\u2014a system dominated by a single figure within the rough outlines of a functioning democracy, held in place by a strong security apparatus<\/a>, a politically controlled judiciary<\/a>, a tightly controlled media and a neutered opposition rendered incapable of getting its message across by a host of oppressive rules.<\/p>\n

Erdogan\u2019s domestic detractors have long accused him of having authoritarian tendencies. Westerners once dismissed the charges, ascribing them to political infighting. But the evidence is becoming incontrovertible, raising alarm in many quarters.<\/p>\n

Turkey is becoming a country where one cannot criticize the president in even mild terms. This week, police jailed two cartoonists<\/a> from the satirical magazine Penguen for a drawing they said insulted Erdogan. The caricature dealt with the harsh environment for journalists.<\/p>\n

Turkish journalists have faced outright repression for years. Turkey was the world\u2019s leading jailer of journalists<\/a> in 2012 and 2013. It has also been the leader in Twitter censorship, with the highest number of requests for content removal<\/a> in Twitter\u2019s latest transparency report.<\/p>\n

As the June elections approach, the crackdown on journalists has extended to the general public. It is now unsafe for anyone to speak out against the president. Just in the past week, police arrested more than a dozen people<\/a>, including teenagers, for \u201cinsulting\u201d the president. Erdogan wants to secure a strong showing in the elections by preventing anyone from expressing an opinion that could hurt his chances.<\/p>\n

A few days ago, the legislature approved a controversial domestic security bill<\/a> that would make it even more perilous to speak out against the president, sharply limiting individual freedoms and enhancing the power of the security services to shut down the opposition.<\/p>\n

For a country ostensibly planning to join Europe and already a member of NATO, this is clearly a problem. Human Rights Watch says<\/a> that Turkey is characterized by an \u201cerosion of media freedom, continuing readiness to limit freedom of expression, a restrictive approach to freedom of assembly.\u201d The International Press Institute released a report titled \u201cDemocracy at Risk\u201d describing \u201ca drift toward authoritarianism that has led to a pervasive climate of self-censorship and one of the most troubling press freedom pictures in Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just as troubling as the restrictions on free expression and free assembly and the government\u2019s ability to shut down demonstrations is the sharp erosion of the independence of the judiciary, effectively undercutting the rule of law.<\/p>\n

When Erdogan faced off with his former ally, the exiled Fethullah Gulen, in 2013 and 2014, he used the opportunity to clean out the courts and the police. He fired hundreds of police officers and detectives, along with judges and prosecutors who were deemed loyal to the Gulen movement rather than to Erdogan.<\/p>\n

And when the EU complained about the actions, he showed only disdain.<\/p>\n

While Erdogan has said he still aims to bring his country into the EU, there is reason to doubt his sincerity. Turkey is still formally in the process of applying for EU membership, but when the EU criticized the arrests of prominent critics of Erdogan in the media, reminding Turkish authorities that in order to join the union it is necessary to respect the rule of law and human rights, Erdogan told them to \u201cmind your own business,\u201d and \u201ckeep your advice to yourself.\u201d Some are calling for freezing Turkey\u2019s EU candidacy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the U.S., Erdogan was once said to have a close relationship<\/a> with President Barack Obama. That has changed. Members of Congress are now urging the administration to challenge Erdogan<\/a> on his democratic backtracking, asking that Obama \u201cstress the importance of media freedom, separation of powers, human rights, and the rule of law\u201d in discussions with Erdogan.<\/p>\n

For beleaguered liberals in Turkey, the horizon looks menacing. The stakes became unexpectedly clear when a peaceful protest in Istanbul\u2019s Gezi Park was violently attacked by security forces in 2013<\/a>, leaving hundreds injured and several dead.<\/p>\n

The secular republic founded by Kemal Ataturk is not only becoming more authoritarian under Erdogan, it is also becoming more Islamic and more Ottoman. Erdogan is undercutting women\u2019s equality and introducing more mandatory religious education. Though Turkish secularists are pushing back, they are finding their views echoed in unexpected places. It hardly counted as a victory for the Turkish opposition when Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, in an interview with 60 Minutes, laughingly described Erdogan<\/a> as \u201csuffering from political megalomania\u201d and aspiring to become \u201cthe Sultan of the new era.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you said that in Turkey, you could get in serious trouble with Erdogan\u2019s security services, a troubling sign for a country that claims it has strong democratic institutions and is preparing to join the EU.<\/p>\n

* Frida Ghitis is an independent commentator on world affairs and a World Politics Review contributing editor. Her weekly WPR column, World Citizen<\/a>, appears every Thursday. Follow her on Twitter at @fridaghitis.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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