Turkey’s Presidential System

This book analyzes various aspects of the presidential system of government in Turkey. It provides a detailed summary of the public debate on the transformation of Turkey’s political system along with the arguments made by advocates and opponents of change. At the same time, it concentrates on the constitutional design of the country’s new system of government, which was jointly introduced by the AK Party and the MHP and adopted in the April 16, 2017 constitutional referendum. It also analyzes the impact of presidentialism on political life in Turkey.

The book concentrates on the transformation of the political system with the April 16, 2017 referendum along with its timing, approach to political law, democratic criteria, and content. Additionally, the political and practical reasons for Turkey’s adoption of the executive presidency model are explained from a historical perspective. The discussions about system change and the mandate of the legislative branch in the lead-up to the April 16, 2017 constitutional referendum are evaluated. Furthermore, the potential contributions of Turkey’s transition to presidentialism to the transformation of the Turkish bureaucracy are analyzed. Lastly, arrangements made under the new system regarding the judiciary are systematically addressed..