An unconstitutional constitutional amendment—The Turkish perspective: A comment on the Turkish Constitutional Court’s headscarf decision (original) (raw)
Related papers
From 1989 onwards, the Turkish Constitutional Court justified the headscarf ban in universities by citing laicism. Interestingly, in 2014, the Court found the headscarf ban in courts unconstitutional and revoked it by again citing laicism as the main reason. How can this seemingly paradoxical practice be explained? This article traces the trajectory of the headscarf issue in Turkey by analysing and contextualising the Constitutional Court decisions. In order to explain how and why the Constitutional Court issued two opposing views of the headscarf ban, this article focuses on the changing political climate and legal developments that took place in Turkey between 2008 and 2014.
Turkey's constitutional amendments: a critical perspective
Although Turkey has largely maintained the constitutional tradition inherited from the Ottomans, and has been ruled by the parliamentary system since its establish- ment, in 1923, the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi – AKP), which is one of the most controversial political structures in Turkish political history, has changed the accustomed system into a Turkish type of presidential one. Furthermore, this important decision was taken in a plebiscite held under state of emergency conditions, after the failed coup attempt and in an authoritarian political atmosphere that has been gradually increasing for more than half a decade. In this regard, this article explains two major points; the constitutional history of contempo- rary Turkey with its Ottoman background, and the AKP’s political journey that is a swing from hope to oppression. Yet, additionally, the article clarifies the minutiae of the amended constitution which are related to human rights and liberties. Lastly, it argues that the proposed constitution will neither reveal a new system, nor will it constitute a democratic socio-political environment and an advanced human rights constitution.
The Turkish Constitutional Court and Civil Liberties: Question of Ideology and Accountability
2008
Summary The Turkish Constitutional Court's verdict annulling the Parliament's amendments to Articles 10 and 42 of the Constitution disregards popular will, legalizes arbitrary restrictions on the right to equal access to education, and erodes the separation of powers by permitting itself to act outside of the legal order. The emergence of a new precedent of judicial activism is now the biggest threat to the future of Turkish democracy.
The Ak Party Government Democratization Approach in Uplifting the Headscarf Ban in Turkey
2019
The headscarf issue is a long-standing issue inside the secular Republic of Turkey. It has started in 1982 when the military elite decided to take charge of institution of higher education which made headscarf become their central focus and was seen as one of the threat for secularization process inside Turkey. After that, the law banning the headscarf inside the institution has been executed. This situation has worsened in 1997 when the next coup occurred. As a result, thousands of female students quit school while some of them chose to study outside Turkey. Therefore, this article is going to discuss the effort the Islamists group has taken to lift the ban since then. Most importantly, the article focus is on the uplifting process done by the AK Party through democratization approach. For this purpose, content analysis of Today’s Zaman newspaper articles was done to see the process. The findings show a pattern inside Turkey’s political landscape. The early effort of the Islamist g...
The Gordian Knot of Turkish Politics: Regulating Headscarf Use In Public
South European Society and Politics, 2008
ABSTRACT: The Justice and Development Party of Turkey passed two constitutional amendments in 2008, in order to lift the headscarf ban in higher education. This act of Parliament stirred up Turkey's perennial debate over the role of religion in a secular republic. This article attempts to clarify the sides of the debate, and present an accurate account of their arguments. It places this topical issue in a historical context by discussing briefly the evolution of political Islam in Turkey, and the legal background of the headscarf issue. Finally, the article draws connections between the current headscarf debates and the endemic problem of gender inequality in Turkey. Keywords: Turkey; Justice and Development Party; Political Islam; Headscarf; Gender Inequality
Turkey’s new Constitution: Historical continuity and rupture of political Islam
Stategy International, 2013
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical including photocopy, recording, or any information storage and retrieval system now known or to be invented, without permission in writing form the publisher, except by a reviewer who wished to quote brief passages in connection with a review written for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, website or broadcast. Strategy International