Regina professor says democratic freedoms under siege in Turkey
Coup attempt fuels divisiveness among citizens, military, government
Professor Nilgun Onder at the Department of Politics and International Studies at the University of Regina says recent developments in her native Turkey do not bode well for the future of democracy in the key NATO member state.
Turkey erupted Friday as elements of the military attempted to overthrow the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, attacking strategic points in Ankara and Istanbul.
The attempt was thwarted by a combination of popular resistance and government force, with debate as to who exactly was behind it ongoing. Some 290 people died — which authorities say included 100 alleged plotters — and since Friday, thousands of members of the military and judiciary have been arrested or suspended, including many top generals.
“The coup has presented a very good opportunity for Erdogan to carry out his goals,” Onder said of steps being taken by Turkey’s repressive administration to clamp down even further, which may include the return of the death penalty.
“The government will use it to suppress any political opposition,” she said. “The coup has done huge damage to democracy in the country.”
Onder’s December 2015 book The Economic Transformation of Turkey: Neoliberalism and State Intervention looks at, among other things, the rise of political Islam in a country dominated by Erdogan’s conservative Justice and Development Party (AKP) since the early 2000s. After a bright start under AKP rule, Onder said since 2007/2008, Turkish democratic freedoms have been severely eroded.
“The AKP’s discourse became much more divisive,” she said. “They often (now) pit their supporters against the others, creating an ‘us versus them’ mentality.”
Onder said the coup may have been related to purges which the military was expecting, but feels it would not have been a kneejerk army reaction, as some have claimed. In Turkey, the military has long been seen as the protector of the country’s secular tradition, leading to tensions between it and Islamist leadership.
“Even a failed coup takes some time to organize,” Onder said. “Although it was a failed coup and really poorly executed, I’m more or less sure it was in the making for a while.”
Erdogan has blamed Fethullah Gulen, a Pennsylvania-based Muslim cleric and leader of the Hizmet movement, for the coup. Gulen, in turn, claimed his former ally Erdogan may even have staged the coup himself.
Onder said the broad “Gulenist” movement is not organized in a way that would simply enable it to push “go” on a coup attempt, though she wouldn’t rule out its involvement.
After a period of steady progress, Turkey has been in crisis in recent years, grappling with the war in neighbouring Syria, terror attacks within its own borders, Kurdish separatism as well as the refugee crisis.
One group to have benefitted is ISIS, which has caused much of the domestic insecurity the coup plotters had claimed they were looking to bring to an end.
“The AKP took a very strong stance against Assad, supporting groups fighting the regime,” Onder said. “At the same time they closed their eyes to ISIS.”
“About two years ago, the Turkish government changed strategy and started taking measures to fight ISIS in Syria. But that move came too late, because now ISIS has a good organization within Turkey.”
“It’s a rapidly shifting place,” she said of her homeland. “I’m very concerned.”