Turkish Polıtıcs

Yanıt Açıklaması: The Italian, German, and Soviet experiences provided an ideological backup to the etatist wing of CHP, which increasingly advocated more state intervention for rapid industrialization. ‘Rather than the state being the handmaiden of a growing private sector, it was now to seize the “commanding heights” of the economy and bend the private sector to its will’ (Richards and Waterbury, 1996, p. 178). The first Five-Year Economic Plan declared its objective as to invest in areas where private sector could not. One may think that these areas are those which require huge projects like building transportation network such as highways and airports or investing in energy sector like building hydroelectric dams or energy plants. Instead, the aim of the Plan was to produce basic consumption goods at home. Within a few decades, the Turkish state created major industrial enterprises, which produced, almost every kind of commodities such as tobacco, sugar, shoe, textiles, power generations, iron, chemicals, and cement. This indeed narrowed down the sphere of the private sector (Richards and Waterbury, 1996, p. 179). More state banks were founded to plan, finance and invest in different industries. The main side-effect of state-managed industrialization was a growing number of civil servants and public sector workers numbering - excluding military officers - 184,000 in 1945.

Yanıt Açıklaması: Throughout the three centuries, from the 1300s until the 1600s, the Ottoman Empire was able to protect the status quo of the classical period without any significant obstacles. On the contrary, after the 1600s, it was impossible to maintain this order for various reasons. One of the main reasons is the disintegration of provincial order. When the land system, based on the production of small peasants and a subsistence economy began to be dissolved principally because of the corruption caused by the Sipahis, the control of the land was captured by the landlords and the Christian notables; and millions of peasants experienced harsh conditions. İnalcık argues that this is not an easy transformation, rather the fundamental reason causing the collapse of the empire. Therefore, the correct option is E.

Yanıt Açıklaması: These experiences imply a direct access to reality, uncovering the obscurities of the myth, magic, and the sacred.

Yanıt Açıklaması: In the 1973 general elections, the CHP was the first party under the leadership of a new leader Bülent Ecevit.

Yanıt Açıklaması: The Sultan Abdülmecid followed in the footsteps of his predecessors to transform the administrative, military and fiscal organs of the empire. The modernizing reforms continued into the nineteenth century. The period from 1839 to 1871 is known as the era of the Tanzimat. The edict of Tanzimat and Islahat are considered the outset of the constitutionalist reforms to prevent the dissolution of the Empire. The edicts were different from the deed of Alliance because the edicts were unilateral and both were declared by the Sultan. Therefore, it can be said that Ottoman’s subjects didn’t struggle for rights and liberties in the edict of Tanzimat and Islahat because the rights and liberties in the edicts were granted by the Sultan.

Yanıt Açıklaması: The currents of thought such as Ottomanism, Panislamism, Turkism, Turanism were advocated to return the empire to its former strong days and to fend off existing threats. The common ideal of these currents of thought is to ensure unity of the state. In short, these currents do not have a sociological basis that comes from the social background; political projects designed by statesmen and intellectuals

Yanıt Açıklaması: Taking into consideration the preparation process of the new constitution, it could be said the whole process wasn’t democratic at all. First of all, the constituent assembly wasn’t formed as a result of an election but appointed by MGK. Civil Society and political parties weren’t a part of this process. As a result of these restrictions, the constitution was adopted by the 91.7% of the popular vote. So only I and III statements are correct.

Yanıt Açıklaması: The first bank, the Ottoman Bank, was established as a Franco-British partnership in 1863 and functioned almost like a central bank in Turkey. It was established to bankroll the state, issue banknotes, and to put the state’s finances in order. The Ottoman state possessed limited control over the activities of the bank; and hence, over monetary policy. Thus, the answer is D.

Yanıt Açıklaması: The constitution of 1961 included the principle of the supremacy of the constitution. As a result of this principle, 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 members of the court were chosen by the members of the high court of appeal and the council of state, the President of the republic and the Assembly. The judicial review of the constitutionality of laws paved the way for balanced relations among all three branches of government and a more democratic system in the country. The constitution, for the first time, established the constitutional court reviewing the constitutionality of laws passed by the Assembly. The constitution recognized autonomous government agencies such as universities and the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (Türkiye Radyo ve Televizyon Kurumu-TRT). The correct answer is B.

Yanıt Açıklaması: 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.

Yanıt Açıklaması: As a starting point, it is necessary to provide a summary of basic socio-economic and political factors to illuminate the failure of the Ottomans in adapting to global economic changes and in creating effective institutions. The Ottoman economy was integrated with the international economic system, however this integration came under the control of the European states before the Tanzimat Reforms in 1839-76 and, thus, it was disadvantageous to the development of Turkey’s productive resources and state revenues. An agricultural economy without land ownership or property rights and the lack of population density in cities also inhibited the development of division of labor and entrepreneurial classes. Ethnicity was a major dividing factor, overshadowing class divisions. The mode of agricultural and industrial production was formed by the state to establish social order and sustainable revenue sources for the military and bureaucratic purposes. In the political economy of the Ottoman Empire, wealth was not necessarily instrumental for gaining political power. This very structure not only failed to adapt to the changes in global trade and industrial markets but also prepared the conditions for the economic collapse.

Yanıt Açıklaması: In 1945, the establishment of new parties was allowed. The most powerful party established during this period was the Democrat Party (Demokrat Parti-DP). The four founders of the party, Celal Bayar, Adnan Menderes, Refik Koraltan and Fuat Köprülü, were members of the Parliament as the Republican People’s Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi-CHP) deputies. In other words, the opposition was born in the CHP itself.

Yanıt Açıklaması: The constitution of 1921 was a short constitution including 23 articles but it was an important document. This constitution did not contain any articles regarding the character of the political system. There was no article regarding the future of the sultanate and the caliphate. However, for the first time the constitution regarded the first general assembly as single political actor that possessed sovereign right in the country. This feature implicitly emphasized the impotent position of the sultan in politics. Therefore, it is fair to say that recognizing the grand assembly as the sole representative of the nation doesn’t reconcile with the idea of a monarchial system.

Yanıt Açıklaması: The constitution is a long document based on a comprehensive ideology, which was Kemalizm. The constitution values state over individual and it is built on the philosophy that brushes aside human rights and freedoms. The constitution acknowledges the democratic parliament system but abolishes the system in the constitution of 1961 that adopted the bicameral assembly consisting of the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Republic. The main reason for having a unicameral system is to make the Grand National Assembly work more effectively

Yanıt Açıklaması: Until 1750, Ottoman manufacturers had competed mainly with their Indian and Iranian counterparts. Thus, the answer is A.

Yanıt Açıklaması: In 1980 many politicians were “banned” from politics. Only three parties had the right to enter the elections. These were the Motherland Party (Anavatan Partisi-ANAP), the Populist Party (Halkçı Parti-HP) and the Nationalist Democracy Party (Milliyetçi Demokrasi Partisi-MDP). The leader of the ANAP was Turgut Özal who was the architect of the decisions of January 24. The MDP was led by the former soldier Turgut Sunalp. President Kenan Evren declared that he would vote for the MDP before the elections. This explanation was clearly aimed at directing the people’s votes to the MDP. However, the purpose of Evren was not materialized. People reacted negatively to this intervention to their free will. In the 1983 elections, The ANAP won the majority of the seats in the parliament and Turgut Özal’s first government was established under his prime ministry.

Yanıt Açıklaması: The constitution of 1961 also granted the rights and freedoms that were in the scope of the idea of positive rights and freedoms. Positive rights force a government to take steps in order to help the individuals to realize themselves. The constitution of 1961 was the first document that included social rights in the Turkish politics and included the following social rights: right to work, right to a safe and healthy work environment, right to rest and leisure, right to fair wages, right to health and education, and the right to social security.

Yanıt Açıklaması: The second party of the period is the Liberal Republican Party ( Serbest Cumhuriyet Fırkası- SCF ). By 1930, Turkey’s economic problems were aggravated by the impact of the Great Depression of 1929. Under these circumstances, at the request of Mustafa Kemal on August 12, 1930, the SCF was established by his close friend Fethi (Okyar) Bey

Yanıt Açıklaması: Kulturkampf (“cultural war or struggle”) is a specific term that indicates a specific period (1871-1887) in German history where state tried to gain dominance over church in daily life, especially in marriage and contract issues. The appearance was illusionary; this was not a conflict between “Protestant State” and “Catholic Church”. Only I and II statements are correct.

Yanıt Açıklaması: The Etatist experiment in the economy was put into force in Turkey in 1933.