Middle East Policy has published Michael M. Gunter’s new article, Turkey: The Politics of a New Democratic Constitution. Dr. Gunter is a professor of political science at Tennessee Technological University and secretary-general of the EU Turkey Civic Commission, which advocates Turkish accession to the EU as a way to help further democratize Turkey.
“Most Turks agree that their current constitution — written in 1982 by the generals who had seized power on
September 12, 1980 — is too authoritarian, statist and tutelary. Thus, it needs to be replaced by a more democratic one that reflects Turkey’s new political maturity and promotes greater civil liberties. Such a document would befit a candidate for European Union accession while also contributing to a solution to the longfestering Kurdish problem…”
The full article is available for download here (pdf).