Turkey as an Electoral Democracy

Turkey as an Electoral DemocracyThis chapter demonstrates that Turkey can be treated as a democracy, as it meets the minimum standard.The minimum level of democracy is generally called polyarchy (Dahl 1971), procedural democracy, or electoral democracy.Electoral democracy, the phrase most commonly used at present, exists when competitive elections are held periodically under universal suffrage.As long as electoral procedures are competitive and fair, the consequences are not questioned.This concept is the conventional wisdom for empirical analysis since it is difficult to both debate and to realize substantive democracy that emphasizes equality as a result of such procedures.In this chapter, the first section discusses the objective conditions that make Turkey an electoral democracy.Second, the development of Turkey's democracy over the past fifty years is briefly reviewed.The third section accounts for various versions of the electoral system in Turkey that have been applied in various circumstances.