Constitutional Law and Politics in Turkiye

From Ataturk to Erdogan
1. Auflage 2026
ISBN: 978-1-032-77848-8
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 222 Seiten, Format (B × H): 156 mm x 234 mm

Reihe: Routledge Research in Constitutional Law

This monograph offers a comprehensive and critical examination of Türkiye’s constitutional trajectory from the late Ottoman Empire to the presidential regime under Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Bridging legal history, political theory, and constitutional analysis, the author interrogates the persistent tension between democratic aspirations and authoritarian consolidation in Turkish constitutionalism. Through a diachronic and thematic approach, the book traces the ideological currents of Kemalism and Erdoganism, revealing their shared roots and dissecting their divergent visions for Türkiye’s legal and political identity. It explores the evolution of constitutional texts, the role of the military and judiciary, the instrumentalization of religion and nationalism, and the contested status of minority rights and gender equality. It delves into the foundational reforms of the Tanzimat, the birth of the Republic, the oscillation between liberalization and repression, and the rise of hegemonic authoritarianism under the Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi - AKP (Justice and Development Party). Drawing on extensive primary sources and doctrinal literature, the author situates Türkiye within broader debates on liberal-democratic constitutionalism, populism, and competitive authoritarianism. This volume contributes to the understanding of Türkiye not merely as a case of democratic backsliding, but as a polity caught in cyclical patterns of institutional rupture and ideological re-foundation. Rich in historical detail and legal insight, Constitutional Law and Politics in Türkiye: From Atatürk to Erdogan is an essential reading for scholars and students of constitutional law, comparative politics, Middle Eastern studies, and modern Turkish history, and readers interested in understanding the complex interplay of law, ideology, and power in one of the world’s most geopolitically pivotal nations.

Zielgruppe

Postgraduate

Autoren/Hrsg.

Scotti, Valentina Rita

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Systeme Demokratie
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Systeme Staats- und Regierungsformen, Staatslehre
• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Kultur Menschenrechte, Bürgerrechte
• Rechtswissenschaften Öffentliches Recht Staats- und Verfassungsrecht
• Rechtswissenschaften Recht, Rechtswissenschaft Allgemein Rechtsvergleichung

Inhaltsverzeichnis

1. Introduction; 2. The Ottoman Empire: From ‘Constrained Absolutism’ to Constitutional Monarchy; 3. From Atatürk to Erdogan: The Uncertain Constitutional Identity of Türkiye; 4. Constitutional Pillars: Secularism and Nationalism; 5. State Institutions from Tutelage to Autocracy; 6. Rights and Freedoms of Turks: Gifts by the Leadership; 7. Concluding Remarks; 8. Bibliography

Über Autor(innen)

Valentina Rita Scotti is an Associate Professor of Comparative Public Law at the European Law and Governance School of the European Public Law Organization, Italy.