3/15/12 Islam, Secularism, and Democracy: Is There A Turkish Excep;onalism? Ahmet T. Kuru San Diego State University Lewis and Huntington
Bernard Lewis: “Some observers, especially
among those who see in Islam an obstacle to
democratic development, point to secularism as the
crucial difference between Turkey and the rest of
the Muslim world” (1994, 45).
Samuel Huntington: “The one Islamic country that
sustained even intermittent democracy after World
War II was Turkey, which had, under Mustafa
Kemal, explicitly rejected its Islamic tradition and
defined itself as a secular republic” (1984, 208).
Ahmet T. Kuru
1 3/15/12 The European Court of Human Rights
The ECtHR upheld Turkey’s headscarf ban arguing
that a particular “notion of secularism,” which bans
headscarves at universities, “may be considered
necessary to protect the democratic system in
Turkey,” which faces the Islamist threat
(November 10, 2005, Leyla Şahin v. Turkey: 28, 46).
Ahmet T. Kuru
Islamic States
(11)
Islam as Official Religion
(15)
Secular States
(23)
Autocracies (38)
1. Afghanistan
2. Bahrain
3. Brunei
4. Iran
5. Mauritania
6. Oman
7. Pakistan
8. Saudi Arabia
9. Sudan
10. Yemen
1. Maldives
1. Algeria
2. Djibouti
3. Egypt
4. Iraq
5. Jordan
6. Kuwait
7. Libya
8. Malaysia
9. Morocco
10. Qatar
11. Somalia
12. United Arab Emirates
Democracies (11)
1. Bangladesh
2. Comoros
3. Tunisia
1. Azerbaijan
2. Burkina Faso
3. Chad
4. Eritrea
5. Gambia
6. Guinea
7.Guinea-Buisseau
8. Kazakhstan
9. Kosovo
10. Kyrgyzstan
11. Lebanon
12. Nigeria
13. Syria
14. Tajikistan
15. Turkmenistan
16. Uzbekistan
1. Albania
2. Indonesia
3. Mali
4. Niger
5. Senegal
Ahmet T. Kuru
6. Sierra Leone
7. Turkey
2 3/15/12 Secular Ideologies Asser%ve secularism The state plays an asser>ve role to exclude religion from the public sphere. Passive secularism The state plays a passive role and allows public visibility of religion. Ahmet T. Kuru
Turkish Politics
Period
1925-46
1946-60
1960-61
1961-65
1965-71
1971-73
1973-80
1980-83
1983-97
1997-2002
2002-
Regime Type
Single Party Rule
Democratization
Military Regime
Semi-Military Regime
Democratization
Semi-Military Regime
Democratization
Military Regime
Democratization
Semi-Military Regime
Democratization
Ahmet T. Kuru
3 3/15/12 Democracy Scores – MENA Countries
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
5.5
6
6.5
7
Turkey
Tunisia
-Lebanon
Kuwait
Morocco
-Algeria
Egypt
Iraq
Jordan
Oman
Qatar
Bahrain
Iran
U.A.E.
Yemen
Libya
Saudi Arabia
Syria
Country
Libya
Iraq
Saudi Arabia
Kuwait
Bahrain
Oman
Yemen
United Arab Emirates
Qatar
Algeria
Iran
Egypt
Syria
Tunisia
Jordan
Morocco
Lebanon
TURKEY
Oil and Gas Revenues
as Percentage of
Government Revenue
0.90
0.88
0.85
0.82
0.80
0.77
0.75
0.74
0.66
0.66
0.55
0.36
0.29
0.21
0.04
0.04
0.00
0.00
Ahmet T. Kuru
Tax Revenues
as Percentage of
Government Revenue
0.05
0.05
0.04
0.02
0.15
0.11
0.18
0.18
0.13
0.31
0.28
0.49
0.45
0.74
0.59
0.91
0.70
0.90
Ahmet T. Kuru
4 3/15/12 Democracy Scores – Rentier States
3
3.5
4
4.5
5
5.5
6
6.5
7
Turkey
Tunisia
-Lebanon
Kuwait - Rentier
Morocco
-Algeria - Rentier
Egypt
Iraq - Rentier
Jordan
Oman - Rentier
Qatar - Rentier
Bahrain - Rentier
Iran - Rentier
U.A.E. - Rentier
Yemen - Rentier
Libya - Rentier
Saudi Arabia - Rentier
Syria
Ahmet T. Kuru
Ques>ons and Answers 5