Secularist Impediments to Democracy?

Turkey has a complex political history, which can neither be seen as entirely democratic and liberal, nor as totally authoritarian and tyrannical. However, the recent controversy in Turkey over the effort of the ruling Justice and Development Party to lift a ban barring women from wearing Islamic headscarves in public buildings (including schools and universities), and the Constitutional Court's decision on June 5, 2008 to overturn parliament's actions highlights one of the more counterintuitive impediments that have prevented the country from becoming a fully consolidated liberal democracy. Furthermore, in the past, the European Court of Human Rights has supported Turkish efforts to impose secularism. Yet, I argue that secularism, which many believe to be an essential element of democratic politics, in the Turkish case, has turned out to be quite undemocratic. This paper explores this paradox in the context of recent events in Turkey. In addition, drawing from the Turkish case, this paper will more broadly revisit the link between secularism and democracy. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]