Full Event Summary

 

On May 12, 2011, the Center for Turkish Studies of the Middle East Institute hosted Mr. Taha Özhan, Director General of the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA Ankara). Mr. Özhan discussed about his perspectives on Turkey’s domestic policies in relation to the Turkey’s upcoming June 12 parliamentary elections. CTS Executive Director, Dr. Gonul Tol, moderated the discussion.

 
Mr. Taha Özhan opened the discussion by suggesting that Turkey’s upcoming elections are not a hot topic in Turkey. The constitutional referendum results on September 12, 2010 have already shown the new direction of Turkey. The constitutional referendum results have shown which political party would win in the upcoming elections, but the remaining question is how many votes Turkey’s each political party would win.
 
Reflecting on the September 12, 2010 constitutional referendum, Mr. Özhan emphasized that it was potentially one of the most important political developments in Turkey’s modern history. The new 2010 constitutional referendum ended fifty-years long military and judicial guardianship by transforming the 1960 coup d’état constitution. Mr. Özhan said that the constitutional referendum has strengthened the country’s democratic transformation process and gave Turkish citizens a hope for “new Turkey.” Nevertheless, Mr. Özhan argued that as Turkey undergoes a gradual transformation rather than a sudden revolutionary transformation, certain old political practices and the legacy of “old Turkey” still lingers.
 
Mr. Özhan discussed how Turkey’s historical political establishments transformed themselves during the referendum process. The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP)’s leader Deniz Baykal, in the well-designed political operation, was replaced with a new leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. Mr. Özhan further pointed out that the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) also lost its strong political base while the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) lots its democraic voice when it rejected an article which prevented the closure of any political party. Furthermore, the military and the judiciary also lost their dominant positions in Turkey’s political establishment.
 
Mr. Özhan further asserted that these “old Turkey” and “new Turkey” debates are also directly affecting the ruling party, the Justice and Development Party (AKP). The idea of “new Turkey” includes aspiration to reach out to all individuals and political parties and develop civil society institutions for the sake of democratization, which coincides with the current surge of the Arab Spring in the neighboring countries. Mr. Özhan emphasized that one of the most important issues in Turkey is it’s Kurdish question which directly affects all schemes of Turkish politics.
 
Mr. Özhan argued that Turkey’s Kurdish question is like a microcosm in which the country’s domestic and international issues are all intertwined. By solving Kurdish question, Turkey could solve plenty of other issues at the same time, such as centralized state issue, regional economic development disparities, as well as issues of identity and citizenship. However, Mr. Özhan suggested that the outcomes of the September 12 referendum gave Turkey opportunities with new political system which could develop inclusive and liberal Turkey.
 
As there is little change in Turkey’s opinion polls, Mr. Özhan argued that the upcoming election results would inherit the outcomes of the September 12, 2010 referendum. Although the CHP’s new leader Kılıçdaroğlu has openly declared that the party would transform itself of becoming the “new CHP,” according to Mr. Özhan, he has shown little commitment to his pledge to bring about any new change. The CHP’s social base has not made new demans, and Kılıçdaroğlu has not presented a clear alternative political discourse. As a result, the CHP has not expanded its social base for the upcoming elections.
 
Mr. Özhan identified another reason as to why the upcoming elections are the continuation of the 2010 referendum outcomes. Mr. Özhan argued that there are few remaining swing voters from the AKP to the CHP or the MHP. Since the September 2010 referendum, Turkey has had an almost complete static social base system based on three regional parties: the BDP in the southeast Turkey; the MHP in Anatolia; the CHP in the western part of Turkey; and the AKP in all over Turkey.
 
Mr. Özhan concluded that although the upcoming election results are easily predicted, it is still a defining moment for Turkey for its democratic process. Both the ruling party, the AKP, and the main opposition party, the CHP, are asking for a new constitution. With its own agenda, the pro-Kurdish party, the BDP, is also demanding a new constitution, while the MHP keeps its natural position without having drasticly opposing views. Everyone is hopeful about a new constitution. Mr. Özhan added that if the Parliament can establish, which it failed to do in 2008 as the CHP rejected, the Consensus Commission to which all parties give an equal number of their members, and only if all parties agree on the article, Turkey can pass a new constitution.
 
Bios:
 
Mr. Taha Özhan is the Director General of SETA based in Ankara, Turkey. He completed his BA in the New York Institute, and received his MA from the New School for Social Research in New York where he continued his PhD studies on political economy. Mr. Özhan taught at Columbia University (2003) and State University of New York (2004 - 2005).
 
He has publications in the fields of political economy and international relations, and co-authored "Iraq Under Occupation" (Isgalin 6.Yılında Irak). He is the author of several research reports, academic papers, book chapters and frequent speaker in international conferences.
 
He regularly contributes to SETA Analysis, SETA Policy Briefs and Insight Turkey. Mr. Özhan hosts a political disucssion program on a national TV and frequent commentator in national and international media outlets. His columns appear in several Turkish national daily newspapers.