TURKEY

Domestic Politics

By Francisco Garrido-Garza

Flag

The colors and design closely resemble the banner of the Ottoman Empire (1299-1918), which preceded modern-day Turkey.

According to legend, the flag represents the reflection of the moon and a star in a pool of blood of Turkish warriors.

The crescent moon and star serve as insignia for the Turks, as well as being traditional symbols of Islam.

Location & Geography

• Slightly larger than Texas.

• High central plateau, narrow coastal plains & several mountain ranges in the East.

• Strategic location: Bosporus Strait & Sea of Marmara linking with the Black and

Aegean Seas. Its location between two continents (Europe and Asia) makes it a

place of significant geostrategic importance as it has always been historically.

Location & Geography

• Anatolia & Asia Minor are other terms to describe the region.

• Western border: Greece & Bulgaria (Europe).

• Eastern border: Syria, Iraq, Iran, Armenia & Georgia.

• Turkey shares the Black Sea with Romania, Ukraine & Russia besides the bordering

countries of Bulgaria and Georgia.

HistoryFor more than a millennium, hegemonic empires contested and ruled the Anatolian

Region because of its favorable geographic conditions and for its direct trade routes

linking East with West (Silk Road Routes).

• Persian Empire (546 – 334 BC)

• Alexander the Great (323 – 146 BC)

• Roman Empire (100 BC – 330)

• Byzantine Empire (330 – 1453)

• Ottoman Empire (1299 – 1918)

• Republic (1923 – )

Turkey’s Background & Development

TURKEYGREECE

BULGARIA

ROMANIA

UKRAINE

RUSSIA

GEORGIA

SYRIA

IRAQIRAN

SAUDI ARABIAEGYPT

JORDAN

ISRAEL

LEBANON

PALESTINE

CYPRUS

SUDAN

LIBYA

CHAD

AZERBAIJAN

ARMENIAMOLDAVIA

KAZAKHSTAN

QATAR

BAHRAIN

U.A.E

OMAN

YEMEN

ETHIOPIA

ERITREA

HUNGARY

UZBEKISTAN

TURKMENISTAN

MAC.ALB.

Historically, Turkey has always been

a place of significant geostrategic

importance because of its location

in the middle of two continents

and two seas.

Persian Empire

Persepolis

The Persians in Anatolia built the first

trade roads and ports, and linked

them with the rest of the Empire

(Middle East).

Around 490 BC, the Greeks from the

neighboring West, went to war

against them.

A century later, the Greeks pushed

the Persians out of Anatolia.

Sardis

Susa

Ecbatana

Cappadocia

Capital

City founded

Persian Empire

(678 – 330 BC)

Hellenistic World

Athens

The Greeks, under the rule of

Alexander the Great, extended the

roads and trade routes that the

Persians built previously.

After Alexander’s death, the empire

broke apart into independent Greek

kingdoms.

International trade between East and

West emerged (Silk Road routes).

Byzantium

Alexandria

AntiochDamascus

Aleppo

Seleucia

HierapolisPergamum

Capital

City founded

Hellenistic World (Greeks)

Ephesus

(323 – 146 BC)

Roman/Early Byzantine Empire

Constantinople

Ctesiphon

In 330, Roman Emperor Constantine

transferred the imperial seat to

Byzantium and changes its name:

Constantinople.

He legalized Christianity and became

the first Christian emperor.

In the mid-400s, the Western Roman

Empire fell. The Eastern part

prevailed and re-emerged as the

Byzantine Empire.

Caesarea

Nicaea

Capital

City founded

Edessa

Adrianople

Sasanid Empire (Persian)

Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine)

(100 BC – 330 AC)

Byzantine Empire

Constantinople

Damascus

Baghdad

Cairo

Medina

Mecca

Capital

City founded Muslim Empire (Umayyad/Abbasid )

Byzantine Empire

(330 – 1453)In fact, the Byzantine Empire was the

continuation and heir of Rome but it

was totally a Christian-authoritarian

state and mostly Greek in language.

Since the emergence of Islam,

Byzantine lands were gradually

falling to the Umayyad Empire as

long as Muslim authorities were

more flexible and bold with

Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians, etc.

Late Byzantine Empire & Turks

Constantinople

Cairo

Capital

City founded Turks

Byzantine Empire

Mamluk Empire

Kerman

RumManzigert

Osmanli

(1057 – 1453)The Turks, who were in their

beginnings nomadic tribesmen from

the steppes of Central Asia,

converted to Islam between the

eight and ninth centuries as well as

adapting to the Abbasid Caliphate.

When the Abbasid Empire fell in

1258, the Turks declared themselves

as an independent state and

establish their own sultanate in

Eastern Anatolia.

Ottoman Empire

Istanbul

Capital

City founded Austrian-Hungarian Emp.

Ottoman Empire Safavid Emp.

Russian Emp.

Isfahan

Tehran

Bursa

(1299 – 1918)In 1453, the Turks, under the rule of

the Ottoman Dynasty, removed the

Byzantine Empire and established

their new capital at Constantinople

(Istanbul).

Since the early 1500s, the Ottoman

Empire made Islamdom to be the

greatest power bloc in the world by

controlling over 80 percent of the

Mediterranean trade with the east.

Late Ottoman Empire

Istanbul

Europe took the alternative to search

for new routes to the East due to the

Ottoman blockade.

Despite the success of the Ottoman

expansion through the sixteenth and

seventeenth centuries, problems in

government and social organization

occurred frequently.

The Ottoman Empire was being

weakened by itself and because of

the European infiltration.Capital

City founded Austrian-Hungarian Emp.

Ottoman Empire Russian Emp.

British-French

Sevastopol

Taganrog

(1800s – 1918)

Republic of Turkey

Ankara

The Ottoman Empire lost its holdings

at the Balkans in WWI.

The Sultan and the imperial system

were not powerful anymore.

The Republic of Turkey, as it is known

today and recognized by the World,

was established in 1923 by Turkish

nationalists and radical reformers.

The modern city of Ankara became

the capital.Capital

Republic of Turkey

(1923 – )

Ataturk & The RepublicMustafa Kemal Ataturk, along with radical-nationalist reformers, removed the

Sultanate. They incorporated western ideas and secular practices to the new

Republic. Ataturk became the first president of Turkey in 1924 after he

overthrew the Ottoman Sultan. In the same year, the new republic promulgated

its first constitution based on democracy and secular pluralism.

Population: 79, 749, 461 (est. 2012).

Demography & Population

Demography & Population

Istanbul Ankara Izmir Bursa Adana Gaziantep Konya0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16Turkey’s Largest Cities

Popu

latio

n (m

illio

ns)

Source: Turkish Statistical Institute

Demography & Population

Istanbul Ankara

BursaIzmir

Age Distribution

Source: The World Factbook – CIA

0-14 15-24 25-54 55-64 65 and older0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

16

18

MaleFemale

Age

Popu

latio

n (m

illio

ns)

Total Population: 79,749,461

Religions

Muslim* 98%

Christian, Jew & other re-ligions

2%

* Mostly Sunni

Source: The World Factbook – CIA

Total Population: 79,749,461

Turks70%

Kurds18%

Greeks, Russians, Georgians & Others

12%

Ethnic Groups

Source: The World Factbook – CIA

Total Population: 79,749,461

The Kurdish ProblemKurdistan:

- A nation without a state.

- Ethnical region situated in the adjacent parts

of Turkey, Syria, Iraq and Iran.

- 4th largest ethnicity in Western Asia after the

Arabs, Persians and Turks.

- 25% live in Turkey.

- Actually, there are political parties (banned)

and activist groups representing the

struggles and interests of the Kurdish

minority (e.g. People’s Labor Party).

Country Name: Republic of Turkey

Type of Government: Republican &Parliamentary Democracy

National Holiday: Republic Day (October 29)

Legal System: similarly based on the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).

Suffrage: Universal (18 years of age).

Government & Tradition

Government Structure

• Constitution:Laws & amendments based on the Principles of Kemalism (Modern Turkish Nationalism), Laicism (secularism) & Modernization.

• Executive Branch:President, Prime Minister & Council of Ministers.

• Legislative Branch:Grand National Assembly (unicameral chamber of representatives).

• Judicial Branch:Constitutional Court, High Court of Appeals (Yargitay), Council of State

(Danistay), Court of Accounts (Sayistay), Military High Court of Appeals & Military High Administrative Court.

Executive BranchThe executive power is exercised by the President and Prime Minister along with the Council of Ministers (presidential staff).

• President:- Head of state.- Elected every 5 years on the principle of universal suffrage and is eligible for a second term. - Does not have to be member of the Parliament.- Must be over 40 years old and have, at least, a Bachelor’s degree.

• Prime Minister: - Head of government.- Appointed by the President and must be approved by the Parliament through a vote of confidence.- Nominates members for the Council of Ministers before the President’s approval.

Executive Branch

Abdullah Gül Recep Tayyip ErdoganPresident Prime Minister

Legislative BranchLegislative power is invested in the 550-seat Grand National Assembly of Turkey,

representing 81 provinces.

- To be represented in Parliament, a party must win at least 10% of the national

vote in a national parliamentary election.

- Members are elected only for a four-year term.

- Independent candidates can run and be elected only if they win over 10% of the

vote in the province from which they are running.

Legislative Branch

Judicial BranchTurkish courts have no jury system; judges render decisions after establishing the facts in each case based on evidence presented by lawyers and prosecutors.

- All courts are open to the public, but in case it is closed, the court must declare the reason.

- The Minister of Justice is the natural head of the judicial council.

- The Military Court of Cassation (Askeri Yargıtay) and The Military High Court of Administration (or the Supreme Military Administrative Court) are the highest bodies to which appeals of decisions of military courts are to be made.

- Turkey accepts the European Court of Human Rights' decisions as a higher court decision. Turkey also accepts as legally binding any decisions on international agreements.

Political Parties• Since 1945, Turkey has functioned under a multi-party system allowing a wide

array of political groups to represent the population.

• There are approximately 61 political parties (registered and banned).

• Political parties that received more than 10% of the suffrage, and/or

represented in the Parliament, are defined as Major parties.

• Currently, 5 major parties have seats in the Parliament.

Main/Major Political Parties

People’s Republic PartyModern-Turkish Nationalist

(Center-left)

Democratic PartyEconomic Liberalism

(Center-right)

National Movement PartyConservative/Nationalist

(Far-right)

Motherland PartyEconomic Liberalism

(Center-right)

Democratic Left PartyModern-Turkish Nationalist

(Center-left)

Justice & Development Party

Social Conservatism(Center-left)

Peace & Democracy PartySocial Democracy

(Center-left)

Young PartyRight-wing Populism

(center-right)

Most influential and often represented in Parliament

Minor Political Parties

Radical/Left Wing: 14 registered (social democracy, socialist, Marxist…)

Conservative/Nationalist: 11 registered (nationalist, Islamist…)

Liberal: 4 registered (economic liberalism, neoliberal, moderate, progressive…)

Green: 2 registered (green politics, sustainability…)

Banned parties (interest groups): 10 (Kurdish separatist, Muslim extremists, workers’

pact…)

Poorly represented in Parliament and/or form coalition with a major party

Agriculture:

Tobacco, Cotton, Grain, Olives, Sugar Beets,

Hazelnuts, Citrus & Livestock.

Industry:

Textiles, Food Processing, Autos, Electronics,

Mining, Steel, Construction, Lumber & Paper.

Energy:

Petroleum, Coal, Natural Gas, Solar & Wind.

Economy

Economy

GDP: $ 783.1 billion.

Poverty rate: 16.9 %

Unemployment rate: 9 %

Agriculture25%

Industry26%

Services48%

Labor Force by Occupation

Source: The World Factbook – CIA

Labor force: 27.11 million

Agriculture9%

Industry28%

Services63%

GDP Composition

Source: The World Factbook – CIA

GDP: $ 783.1 billion

Conclusion

Turkey is both European and Middle Eastern because of its cultural

contrast and historical backgrounds. As a result of its location between the Black

and Mediterranean seas, and by managing multiple diplomatic relations with both

European and Middle Eastern neighbors, Turkey gained its recognition as a

regional power. Comparing to many Middle Eastern countries, Turkey

demonstrates to be a modern country with a stable economy and vast pluralism in

politics. But on the other hand, the country still faces geopolitical and socio-

cultural challenges in and beyond of its territory as with the Kurds.

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