Turkish Polıtıcs

Yanıt Açıklaması: Democrat Party ended the 27-year dominance and hegemony of CHP.

Yanıt Açıklaması: Ziya Gökalp outlined historical and cultural principles of nationalism in his influential book, Principles of Turkism.

Yanıt Açıklaması: all ordinary laws made by the Assembly had to comply with the constitution. The constitution established a constitutional court and it introduced the judicial review of the constitutionality of laws for the first time. The court had 15 permanent members and 5 substitute members. The Constitution of 1961 is distinctive from the previous constitutions with regard to the separation of powers.

Yanıt Açıklaması: The constitution declared that the political regime of Turkey was a republic and any constitutional proposal to change this article was prohibited. One of the most distinctive features of the constitution as to human rights and freedoms was to recognize the principle of secularity. Although the constitution did not include this principle in its initial document, the amendments made in 1928 removed the article declaring the acceptance of Islam as an official religion of the state and the article stating that the government had to force the principles and provision of the sharia law. The amendment in 1937 included the principle of secularity. The constitution of 1924 remained in force during the one-party period and the first couple years of the multi-party system period. It can be said that the philosophy and features of the constitution served the needs of a majoritarian government and also prevented the creation of a pluralist political system. After transitioning into the multi-party system, the inadequacy and problems of the constitution became obvious. The correct answer is C.

Yanıt Açıklaması: Here are some characteristics of the constitution of 1876 • The monarchic and theocratic aspect of the political system of the empire was preserved. Islam was accepted as the religion of the empire. Istanbul was declared the capital of the empire. • The Executive branch consisted of the Sultan and the Cabinet (Heyet-i Vükela). Legal immunity was granted for the Sultan. The Sultan was the head of the cabinet and had the right to appoint and dismiss the members of the cabinet. The cabinet didn’t have to obtain the vote of confidence from the parliament and had no political responsibility. • The Ottoman Legislature body was composed of two chambers: the Senate (Heyet-i Ayan) and the Chamber of Deputies (Heyet-i Mebusan). The members of the Senate would be appointed for life by the Sultan, while the deputies would be elected by the people through indirect (two-stage) elections in which only property owners were allowed to vote. The right to propose a bill for the General Assembly was firmly restricted and it was subjected to the Sultan’s permission and bills had to be approved by the Sultan in order to come into effect. On the other hand, the Sultan couldn’t enact laws on his own. The Sultan was granted the right to abolish the General Assembly to hold new elections. The correct answer is C.

Yanıt Açıklaması: The paradigm of secularization is defined in terms of three major developments in the process of modernization, which are differentiation, decline of religion, and privatization.

Yanıt Açıklaması: The Central Bank was established in 1930 to further strengthen the financial sector and the economic independence of the state. A state office for industry was set up in 1932 to inspect the accounts of the private sector and to enforce price and wage controls (Buğra, 1991, p. 160-1).

Yanıt Açıklaması: The first and a major development towards the secularization of the state, education and law is the abolishment of Sultanate before the declaration of the republic in 1923.

Yanıt Açıklaması: The political system that the constitution created was an example of the assembly government model. Legislative and Executive powers were vested in the Assembly and it controlled the ministers. The Assembly could remove ministers from their position. The Assembly enacted laws when needed and exercised its executive power over the cabinet. While the Assembly had the right to abolish the cabinet, the cabinet did not have the same right to dissolve the Assembly. The Chairperson of the Assembly was the head of the cabinet. The constitution did not have any article regarding how to elect a president of the state but Mustafa Kemal, as the chairperson of the Assembly, acted as if he were the president. The judicial branch of the government wasn’t designated in the constitution.

Yanıt Açıklaması: The structural adjustment program (SAP) prepared before the military takeover came into full effect after the 1983 elections during which previous parties and their leadership were still on trial. ANAP under the leadership of Özal became the first party to encompass different political tendencies of the right wing electorate thanks to the political bans keeping the old prominent figures out of sight. E is the right answer.

Yanıt Açıklaması: Some practices in the last period of the DP government encouraged the military officers who were in search of a military intervention. Criticisms about the authoritarian rule of the government led some intellectuals to cooperate with the pro-junta groups in the army. The junta took control of the city centres, especially the capital city Ankara, in the morning of May 27th. A special court which was called “the Supreme Court of Justice” was established. Because the coup was not achieved in a chain of command, a serious confusion arose on managing the post-coup period. For this reason, the architects of the coup formed a commission which was called the National Unity Committee (Milli Birlik Komitesi). After the coup, most of the high ranking military officers who had served in the DP government were retired. Therefore, the correct option is D.

Yanıt Açıklaması: Although there were a large number of young officers in the coup, their positions were not clear. Because the coup was not achieved in a chain of command, a serious confusion arose on managing the post-coup period. For this reason, the architects of the coup formed a commission which was called the National Unity Committee (Milli Birlik Komitesi). The National Unity Committee consisted of 38 officers and most of them were colonels and lower ranking military officers. The National Unity Committee had the authority to make regulations through which the power was effectively centred in the committee. In a short time, the National Unity Committee banned all political activities within the country, and lots of people were arrested.

Yanıt Açıklaması: In 1989, Prime Minister Turgut Özal has been nominated for presidency. As a result of the elections held in parliament, Özal was elected as the president. After the presidency of Celal Bayar in the 1950s, Özal was the second civilian president of the Turkish Republic.

Yanıt Açıklaması: “Political Islam” raised during 1960-1980: Süleyman Demirel period.

Yanıt Açıklaması: Mahmud II sent some men to the Western countries, such as England, France, Prussia, and Austria, to receive training to meet the state’s military needs.

Yanıt Açıklaması: Talat Aydemir and Fethi Gürcan, the leaders of the coup attempt, were sentenced to death and the parliament approved the death penalties. At the end, Aydemir and Gürcan were executed in 1964.

Yanıt Açıklaması: Süleyman Demirel was elected as the leader of the Justice Party and became the prime minister with 1965 elections.

Yanıt Açıklaması: The February 28 military memorandum created a big trauma in large segments of society. For example, thousands of girls were forced to leave their schools because they were veiling. Vocational high school students were exposed to discrimination through the coefficient system; so many students could not enter faculties for many years. A large number of people were judged and sent to prison with the accusation of their reactionary activities. Some people lost their jobs and professions. On February 28, the military did not make a usual coup. However, politicians were forced to act in the direction of the army’s demands. They changed the elected government and intervened directly into politics without directly taking control of the country. For this reason, the February 28th Process was called the “postmodern coup”.

Yanıt Açıklaması: The first coup attempt in the Ottoman period was the Kuleli Incident, which happened in 1859. Some soldiers and civilians planned a coup in cooperation in order to dethrone Sultan Abdulmecid and replace him with Abdulaziz. Therefore, the correct option is B.

Yanıt Açıklaması: When World War I ended, the Ottoman Empire lost its independence to the occupying forces: Britain, France, Italy and Greece. Accordingly, The answer is D.