Political culture: a tale of two civilizations

Abstract

Whether we take the Tanzimat Edict of 1839 as the symbolic milestone marking the start of the Turkish/Ottoman Westernization efforts, or we prefer even earlier events such as Vakayi Hayriye or even the short-lived Tulip Era, contemporary Turkey's political culture has been shaped by the never-ending struggle between two different mindsets and identities. Recent years, however, have witnessed serious levels of political polarization which is closely correlated with the deeply-rooted cultural schism. The present chapter aims at describing and analyzing the main dimensions of contemporary Turkish political culture against this historical background. Special attention is devoted to the prevalence of democratic values as measured by surveys conducted over the last three decades.