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State, institutions and reform in Turkey after July 15

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 November 2018

Bülent Aras Open the ORCID record for Bülent Aras [Opens in a new window]  and
Emirhan Yorulmazlar
Bülent Aras
Affiliation:
İstanbul Policy Center, Sabancı University, Minerva Han No. 2, Karaköy, İstanbul, Turkey 34420; [email protected].
Emirhan Yorulmazlar
Affiliation:
Foreign Policy Institute, School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, 1619 Massachusetts Ave. N.W., Rome Building, Suite 734, Washington, DC, USA 20036; [email protected].
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Abstract

The failed coup of July 15 has shocked the current state apparatus in Turkey. This shock has culminated in the public demand for administrative reform, which would make previous public designs and policy failures a matter of the past. The state crisis has transpired in the middle of a political transition process whereby the ruling party envisioned systemic change in the political system from the parliamentary to a presidential system. The constitutional amendments also imply changes in the administrative order, with further political hold on bureaucratic cadres. The coup attempt and the massive purges in its aftermath brought the state to its breaking point. In light of such deficits and challenges, this paper discusses the ways, means, and prospects for capacity development and institution-building to overcome the state crisis in Turkey. The reform and restructuring process entails cooperation and a level of understanding between the government, opposition, and bureaucracy. Polarization and disenfranchisement are recipes for further fragmentation in Turkish politics. A cooperative model based on a working relationship between the government, opposition, and bureaucracy would facilitate a return to normalcy.

Keywords

Turkeystate crisisadministrative reformpolitical transitionJuly 15 coup attemptcapacity developmentinstitution buildinggovernment-bureaucracy relationship
Type
Special Dossier: Researching human smuggling in the Mediterranean
Information
New Perspectives on Turkey , Volume 59 , November 2018 , pp. 135 - 157
Copyright
© New Perspectives on Turkey and Cambridge University Press 

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