Political and social developments in Turkey

Dr Hürcan Aslı Aksoy, Head of the Centre for Applied Turkey Studies (CATS) of the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP), gave the Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt Foundation (BKHS) a comprehensive overview of political developments in Turkey, the current challenges for democracy, and Turkey's relationship with the EU in a workshop prior to the Helmut Schmidt Lecture "For a Just Democracy!". The speaker of the lecture is the Turkish opposition politician Ekrem İmamoğlu, Mayor of Istanbul.

Historical context

Turkey has always struggled with democratic restrictions, such as frequent party bans and military interventions. These factors, as well as the limited rights of the Kurdish minority, led to a so-called ‘defective democracy’ with a strong influence of the military and the bureaucracy on the government. Since 2011, various attempts have been made to weaken democratic institutions. These have included, for example, control of the media and a strong politicisation of the judiciary. In 2016, the parliamentary system was transformed into a presidential system. Since 2017, Turkey is considered an autocracy. The AKP government has finally strengthened its control over religious authority and further weakened parliament and the opposition.

Turkey-EU relations

The increasing regression of democracy has strained relations between the EU and Turkey. Despite these challenges, Turkey remains an important partner due to its strategic location between Asia and Europe and its role in NATO. There are still opportunities for cooperation, particularly in the areas of trade, migration and ecological transformation. In addition, Turkish society is currently leaning towards Turkey's accession to the EU in response to the ongoing economic crisis.

Socio-economic and social challenges

The ongoing inflation and economic crisis have severely weakened the Turkish middle class. The issue of migration also plays a role: there is currently a xenophobic climate in Turkey. The fear of severe earthquakes in cities with weak infrastructure also dominates the social climate.

Overall, Dr Aksoy's presentation highlighted the complex situation in Turkey and showed possible ways in which the EU can contribute to long-term stabilisation and democratisation through indirect support. The EU and Germany cannot intervene directly in Turkish domestic politics to achieve democratisation, but they can ensure that the situation in Turkey remains on the political agenda, e.g. by enabling urban planning (in opposition-ruled cities) through funding.

We look forward to the current discussions at the Helmut Schmidt Lecture on 21 November on the topic "For a Just Democracy!" at the Museum for Communication in Berlin.