What Future for Democracy? Turkey's Experience in a Comparative Perspective

Catalog description

This course explores the political history of modern Turkey as a lens to critically rethink democracy in the 20th and 21st centuries. Emerging from the Ottoman imperial legacy as a secular republic and assertive nation-state, Turkey has oscillated between democratic openings and authoritarian closures, shaped by social, economic, and geopolitical forces. Once hailed as a model for reconciling Islam and democracy, Turkey now exemplifies the challenges of new authoritarianism under Erdogan. Yet, its democratic trajectory - marked by military interventions, European Union debates, and persistent civic engagement - offers valuable insights into the possibilities and limits of democratic practice. Situating Turkey within a comparative framework alongside cases like Tunisia, Greece, Mexico, and South Korea, the course examines global influences from French secularism to Latin American populism. Ultimately, Turkey's contested democratic history helps illuminate the crises and prospects of democracy today, offering new ways to understand both Turkey's place in the world and the future of democracy itself.