Prof Levent Köker: “Meselenin sebebi, kuruluştaki 'Türk Milli Devleti’ formatı, ve ‘beka’ kaygıları"

The AKP was founded 25 years ago and has been in power for almost a quarter of a century. On July 15th, the 10th anniversary of the coup attempt, one of the most important turning points, will be commemorated. The country has been governed by an extremely centralized "presidential regime" for nine years. What we see before us is a turbulent story of Turkey, full of sharp turns and U-turns, a chaotic adventure. The breaking points have piled up: the unfinished and frozen EU accession process, the return to Ankara's criteria, the Gezi protests, the 17-25 December corruption files, the controversial presidential election of 2014, the Kurdish peace process interrupted between 2013-2015, the winds that turned with two consecutive elections in 2015, waves of violence, the coup attempt, the subsequent state of emergency and the decree regime that shaped it, the purges and partisan appointments in the state bureaucracy, the harsh decisions that accelerated Turkey's slide towards autocracy, the instrumentalization of the judicial system, tens of thousands of political prisoners, and the regime change and presidential system in 2017. And today, developments that seem to aim at rendering the opposition ineffective. Where have we come from and where are we going? Why is a large segment of society unhappy, why is there a state of exhaustion? Inflation is at record levels, poverty is spreading, and nearly 24 million citizens are dependent on social assistance (and the government). On one hand, a small, happy minority is getting richer, and on the other, a disappearing middle class. Foreign investment is dwindling, and foreign policy is zigzagging. Why has the system failed to produce stability, and why is it still failing to do so? In this situation, everyone is looking for a scapegoat. Some blame the social democrats, leftists, and liberals who want reform; others blame the Gülen group; some blame the Kurds; some blame the CHP; some blame the nationalists or the military; some blame the Islamists... The list goes on and on. Where are the mistakes, who is responsible, what factors are at play, and why did this happen, and why has Turkey been dragged into this situation? Has the horse already bolted? What kind of model does the current power structure ("system") aim for? Can a channel towards democracy be opened from here? What are the opportunities, possibilities, and obstacles? In this interview series, I seek answers to these and similar questions from politicians, experts, and independent observers from diverse backgrounds. My guest is Professor Levent Köker, a leading expert in constitutional and public law.