Introducing Human Rights in Turkey

Abstract

Since the foundation of the Republic of Turkey, the military and the media have been the leading traditional powers of oppressive, secularist, and nationalist regimes in the country. As a result, Turkey has been confronted with the anti-democratic practices of its governments. After a period of initial reforms, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan seized the levers of power and used them aggressively against his political enemies rather than eliminating the structures of the authoritarian state. He turned Turkey into a one-person regime after the failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016, and his actions have included the widespread violation of human rights. Among the repercussions of the actions taken were the imprisonment of hundreds of thousands of people, the shuttering of media, the dismissal of public employees, the dismissal of academics, and the misuse of the criminal justice system to victimize its citizens. Other adverse effects encompassed widespread violations of human rights, the abuse and mistreatment of prisoners, false imprisonment, torture, and the absence of the right to a fair trial. This introductory chapter addresses a brief historical background on human rights violations, specifically, under Erdogan’s era. This chapter also gives a brief introduction to each essay, the full complement of which address all aspects of human rights in Turkey. This volume consists of twenty chapters that contain substantial new essays prepared by more than 30 leading Turkish and international researchers, human rights activists, scholars, and practitioners in the field. It also provides a complete overview of the issues that inform research, a “map” of the debates that animate the field, and provides readers with new perspectives on the most recent human rights issues from a multidisciplinary perspective.