ABOUT THIS BOOK

Explores and illustrates how domestic and international factors shape the direction of democratization process with special reference to constitution making process in Turkey. Describes how all five Turkish constitutions were, by and large, the products of indigenous effort, although borrowing could be felt in certain limited areas. Argues that the constitutional reforms in the post-1983 period were the outco me of broad inter-party negotiations and agree ments as a response to the society's demands for a more democratic and liberal political system. Finally, the constitutional revisions adopted since 1995 were strongly conditioned by Turkey's hope of accession to the European Union. With these reforms, Turkey was successful in meeting the political criteria and started accession negotiations with the EU.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Ömer Faruk Gençkaya is a professor of Political Science and country evaluator at COE-GRECO.

Professor Ergun Özbudun is a Professor of Constitutional Law at Bilkent University and member of Venice Commission.

REVIEWS

"A significant analysis of the origin, policies, and impacts of the Justice and Development Party (AKP). Özbudun and Hale's arguments about secularism and the military are the most remarkable of several important points they develop. The authors successfully explore the dynamics of constitution writing and amending in Turkish political history. Özbudun and Genckaya ephasize the need for further substantial amendments, if not an entirely new Constitution, as part of Turkey's democractization process."
-- Political Science Quarterly

TABLE OF CONTENTS

IntroductionChapter 1. The History of Constitution-Making in TurkeyChapter 2. Initial Changes, 1987–1995Chapter 3. Constitutional Amendments under EU Conditionality 1998–2006Chapter 4. Harmonization Packages and Other Legislative ReformsChapter 5. EU Conditionality and Democratization Process in TurkeyChapter 6. The Constitutional Crisis of 2007–2008 and the Search for a New ConstitutionConclusionAppendix 1. Checklist on the Status of Legislative Changes in the Political Criteria Section of the 2001 and 2003 National Program for the Adoption of the AcquisAppendix 2. Laws Adopted by the EU Harmonization PackagesIndex