The courteoom of the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in Strasbourg, France. Rainer Jensen/ Press Association. All rights reserved.Once praised as a model for democratizing countries in the region, Turkey is now making headlines for election fraud and jailing political opponents. As Turkey prepares for its general elections on June 24 under state of emergency conditions, the results will be unlikely to loosen the grip President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has held on power since 2002.
Turkey’s sharp turn towards authoritarianism raises a fundamental question about the supposed democratizing effect of liberal democracies on transitioning states. Turkey has strong institutional and economic ties to Europe. For more than a generation, the prospect of European Union (EU) membership provided the primary push behind many political reforms instituted in Turkey. Hundreds of thousands of Turkish citizens have brought their cases before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), an institution designed to protect individuals against state oppression. Turkey’s sharp turn towards authoritarianism raises a fundamental question about the supposed democratizing effect of liberal democracies on transitioning states.
These days, however, as dissidents in Turkey are under siege by an oppressive government, they can no longer count on Europe as an ally. I suggest here that Turkey is still vulnerable to pressure from Europe. However, Europe is incapable of summoning the will to promote democracy and human rights, as its own populations clamour for the same kind of aggressive right-wing populism that threatens to rend Turkey apart.
