Pluralism, Democracy and Constitutional Politics: A Schmittian Analysis

Abstract Can a country that is so polarized in two fundamental issues -ethno-national Introduction When in 2007, Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power for the second time, the secular cadres in Turkey felt the blow stronger than before. They had assumed that AKP"s initial victory was coincidental. The voters had chosen AKP not because they believed in AKP"s political agenda, but rather because the seculars had not produced anything new. The second time, however, proved the seculars" interpretation of the 2002 elections was drastically off. AKP, which advertised itself as a Muslim -democrat party, waspreferred by the Turkish electorate, exactly because of its political agenda. Election results were not simply a punishment for the seculars. On the other hand, for the groups that AKP represented, the 2007 election results meant another electoral term of learning to live with the seculars. This has not always been so easy for either groups, and it continues to constitute the primary dynamic of Turkish politics. However, what many seculars feared has not happened: Although in both elections AKP came to power as a majority, it did not attempt to dismantle the secular establishment