Turkey's Political Leaders - (Edinburgh Studies on Modern Turkey) by Tezcan Gümüş (Paperback)

About the Book

Investigates how leaders in Turkey's political sphere have hindered democratic consolidation

Book Synopsis

This longitudinal study reveals how the conduct of political leaders has been central to the shortcomings of the Turkey's democratic system. The most prominent political leaders, from the birth of the Republic until today, have all displayed a desire to sustain their rule through authoritarian and undemocratic measures. This has ensured efforts to improve, strengthen and respect democratic institutions and practices have been weak or non-existent across the multi-party era. In turn, the chapters identify how the leaders' values, beliefs and practices underwritten by authoritarianism, have resulted in the tenuous existence of democracy, oscillating between simply enduring and failure during the periods they occupied the seats of political power. By looking at the Turkish experience, the book also offers comparative lessons and insights into the role political leaders play in the survival or failure of democracy.

Review Quotes

This book achieves the finest balance between examining the details of the rule by political leaders and providing a comprehensive analysis of the political trajectory of Turkey. Gümüş's remarkable analysis highlights the overwhelming role that leaders have played in shaping Turkey's political developments and will therefore be a major reference book in future debates and research.

Timed perfectly at the country's centennial, Gümüş's longitudinal study brilliantly unpacks the role of leaders in explaining the lack of democratic consolidation throughout Turkey's multi-party era. The book's individual focus on the authoritarian practices of democratically elected elites makes it a must-read for Turkey scholars, comparativists, and democracy-watchers alike.