Ahmet T. Kuru and Alfred Stepan (eds.

), Democracy, Islam and Secularism in Turkey,

Columbia University Press, New York, 2012, pp. 224.

Nikos Christofis
PhD Candidate
Leiden Institute for Area Studies (LIAS)
Leiden University, The Netherlands

The present volume is a welcome addition to recently burgeoning body of literature about the
Justice and Development Party (AKP). AKP, which can “no longer be considered as an
Islamist party […]”, but rather, is described as a “conservative democratic party inspired by
faith-based values in social and cultural values” (p. 69), questioned some of the basic
Kemalist principles on which the Turkish society was built, and managed to create new social
and political dynamics. The volume, edited by Ahmet T. Kuru and Alfred Stepan, is the
product of two conferences held at Columbia University in 2008 and 2009, contributors to
which shed new light on old issues, such as the army, and most of the essays adopt a
comparative perspective, demonstrating how fruitful such an approach to historical analysis
can be.
The volume begins with two essays that deal with the distinct legacies of
contemporary Turkey; the Ottoman Empire and Kemalism. The Ottoman legacy and the issue
of Ottoman “toleration” is dealt in Karen Barkey’s article, who shows how the Ottoman
Empire managed to create a system in which different religions could be facilitated, only to be
abandoned later during the Turkish Republic to give space to a homogenizing Turkish nation,
especially, after the 1982 Constitution. According to Barkey, the Ottoman example can be
used in Turkey to adopt a more tolerant approach towards religion (p. 28), and at the same
time, utilize many of the Copenhagen criteria.
“The Historical Roots of Kemalism” is the subject of a long chapter by Şükrü
Hanioğlu, whose highly critical treatment of Kemalism is both well-balanced and
comprehensive. Hanioğlu focuses on three intellectual movements that he claims link the
Ottoman Empire to Kemalism: scientism, Westernism and Kemalist Turkish nationalism. All
three movements have their origins in the Ottoman Empire but are now questioned by the
AKP government, and Hanioğlu shows that multiple secularisms can and do exist in Turkey,
a point also highlighted by the book’s editors.
The next article is by Ergun Özbudun , who, like Hanioğlu, puts at the core of his
analysis the six Kemalist principles to show how the Ottoman Empire, from a multi-ethnic
Empire became a homogenous state with a monolithic state structure. This structure is
questioned by the AKP, which, according to Özbudun, seems to be the only true national
party with significant support all over Turkey (p. 88). The issue of secularism, and laïcité , a
particular conception of secularism, is handled by the editors of the book. The comparative
approach oflaïcité in Turkey, France and Senegal, as well as the introduction of terms such as
“assertive” and “passive” secularism, and the “separationist” and “respect all, support
all” models, help the authors categorize, analyse and explain variations of laïcité and to
conclude that only in Senegal was a religion-friendly laïcité introduced and implemented.
Umit Cizre’s essay deals with the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF). Her analysis
highlights the restrictions upon the TAF (p. 127) and the disadvantageous position in which it
found itself due to AKP policies. Interestingly, while the AKP seems to represent the interests
of the private sector, the TAF “has come to view society as the central front in a battle to
maintain support for its guardian mission” (p. 138). In other words, due to the limits on the
TAF’s authority, the military is struggling to play a political role in the system, and is
mobilizing supporters and establishing associations such as the Quamingos (quasi-military
non-governmental organizations) to question the AKP’s role in Turkey’s political system and
society.
Özbudun, in his second contribution, seems to blame the 1982 Constitution (p. 149)
for the lack of democratic principles in Turkey and for the strengthened authority of the state,
but his analysis goes beyond that. He shows very eloquently how the state used the 1982
Constitution and the mechanisms deriving from it, to protect itself against the actions of its
citizens. Additionally, he shows the extent to which the Turkish state acted unconstitutionally
in its promotion of national and territorial unity (pp. 151-153) and of the AKP’s anti-secular
activities (p. 160). Ultimately, Özbudun seems to believe in AKP, although there are other
forces that make it put a halt on the reforms.
Özbudun’s optimism seems to be shared by Joost Lagendijk, whose analysis focuses
on Turkey’s accession to the EU. Lagendijk presents not only AKP’s account of Turkey’s
accession application to the EU, but also the other side of the coin; the EU’s stance towards
Turkey. The author divides the period 2002-2009 into three parts; a) the rapid acceleration of
reforms, b) the halt of the reforms because of the reactions towards AKP, both domestically
by the Kemalist circles, but also by the EU, compounded by the poor handling of the Cyprus
question, and, c) he argues that only in 2009, the AKP started some initiatives, which, if
implemented, will also signal that the AKP does not have a secret agenda of Islamizing the
country (p. 182). The last essay is by Stathis Kalyvas, who argues that the “Turkish model”, a
combination of moderate Islamism, liberal reforms and democratic consolidation, is not
unique if viewed in comparative perspective (p. 192), since it shares several elements with the
Catholic mobilization of nineteenth-century Europe.
The present volume is at once highly readable and insightful, and each essay presents
a historical background that will help experts on Turkey and non-experts alike. Perhaps most
importantly, it sheds light to a country from a different, non-stereotypical perspective
incorporating Turkey in comparative political and historical studies, and all contributors use
Turkey in their analysis in a broad and informative context. I highly recommend it for
scholars, graduate students, and anyone else interested in Turkish politics.