Democratization, clashing narratives, and 'twin tolerations' between Islamic-conservative and pro-secular actors

Abstract

The three-year period, which began in 2007 with the controversies preceding the election of Turkey’s eleventh president Abdullah Gül, was critical for Turkish democracy. During these years, some examples of the tensions and intrigues in Turkish politics have included massive pro-secular and anti-government rallies; an online military ultimatum to the democratically elected government rooted in (former) Islamist parties; a case heard at the Constitutional Court to outlaw the governing party for ‘ anti-secularism’; fierce battles in the domestic and international media in which the adversaries have presented themselves as the defenders of democracy or of secularism, calls by the prime minister to boycott the country’s largest, mainly pro-secular media group; and arrests of former military officers, along with pro-secular intellectuals, on various charges including conspiracy to topple the government.