Constitutional Reforms in the Republic of Turkey in the XXI century

Abstract

The article examines the processes of constitutional reforms in the Republic of Turkey in the XXI century - during the period of Justice and Development Party’s leadership. The author characterizes the attitude of this political force to the basic law of the state, that was approved in 1982 during the reign of the military junta, and outlines its views on the potential revision of the document. He argues that, at the earliest possible opportunity, with the strengthening of their positions, the party of Recep Tayyip Erdogan resorted to actions aimed at reviewing the provisions of the Constitution in order to implement its strategic goal - the transformation of Turkey into a presidential republic. The process of reforms’ implementation lasted for several years and led to the holding of three constitutional referendums in the state. The article analyzes the results of these events which were held in 2007, 2010 and 2017. It is states that the majority of the proposed amendments to the basic law were adopted - from the change in the format for electing the president of the republic, continuing to the offensive on the constitutionally mandated powers of the military and completing with the transition to a full-fledged presidential form of government. Thus, the revision of the Constitution eventually brought success to Erdogan and his supporters, radically reforming the system of public administration and providing them with positive prospects for the continuation of domination in the Turkish politics – a thesis, which was confirmed by the results of the extraordinary presidential and parliamentary elections of 2018. Also, despite the results of the popular vote during referendums, the division of the state is underlined, as the rejection of the proposals of the Justice and Development Party in certain Kurdish and traditionally Kemalist regions of the country is firmly visible. Also the author highlights the mixed reaction of Ankara's western partners to Turkish constitutional reforms: at first these processes were considered in Europe as evidences of the liberalization of Turkish legislation, but today they are seen as an usurpation of power by Erdogan and his party.