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More than sixty years after Turkey's Democrat Party was removed from office by a military coup and three of its leaders hanged, it remains controversial. For some, it was the defender of a more democratic political order and founder of a dominant center-right political coalition; for others, it ushered in an era of corruption, religious reaction, and subordination to American influence. This study moves beyond such stark binaries. Reuben Silverman details the party's establishment, development, rule, and removal from power, showing how its leaders transformed themselves from champions of democracy and liberal economics to advocates of illiberal policies. To understand this change, Silverman draws on periodicals and archival documents to detail the Democrat Party's continuity with Turkey's late Ottoman and early republican past as well as the changing nature of the American-led Cold War order in which it actively participated.
List of contents
Introduction; 1. Young Ottomans: the origins of the Democrat Party, 1908-1946; 2. Children of the revolution: defining the Democrat Party, 1946-1950; 3. The costs of success: the Democrat Party in power, 1950-1954; 4. De-democratization and discontent: backing away from economic liberalism, 1954-1955; 5. Democratic deficits: moving towards political illiberalism, 1955-1958; 6. A front to democracy: the Democrat Party and the return to authoritarian rule, 1958-1960; Conclusion.
About the author
Reuben Silverman is a researcher focused on Turkey. He is the author of Turkey's Ever Present Past: Stories from Turkish Republican History (2016), Politics in Turkey: Parties, Politicians and the Struggle for Power (2018), and Borderline Personalities: Lives at the Political, Social, and Geographic Edges of Modern Turkey (2021).
