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MUHAMMED ÇETİN cetin.m@todayszaman.com Columnists

Turkey from negarchy to democracy


The junta formation within the General Staff and its relations with self-serving interest groups and the judicial bureaucracy are aimed at negarchy in Turkey.

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Negarchy is a form of governance between anarchy and hierarchy in which the self-interests of the separate powers cancel one another out by indirect yet interdependent means. Negarchy maintains the status quo, which serves the self-interest of groups within the system. They negate one another owing to their material interests or their respective privileged resources. They divert democratic and human rights and impose restrictions on others. Restrictions are disguised as legal, judicial or constitutional despite being undemocratic and repressive. They are directed against those who would directly, indirectly or symbolically challenge the group’s self-assumed ownership of the state and public resources. If any of the strategies of their own creation that they readily use against others are deployed against them to limit their power or potential affluence, they are unwilling to be subjected to them and come up with contingency plans for smear campaigns, threats, coercion and violence.

Documents sent by an officer who actively took part in the junta formation have stirred civilian outcry across the social and political spectrum. Experts and people of common sense are united in calling for all organs of the state to strictly adhere to the functions assigned them by the Constitution. The overt disrespect and tendency to oppose parliamentary governance that we see among members of the judiciary and military violate the rules and conventions of institutions and the principle of the separation of powers. The dark relationships of negarchy systematically undermine the credibility of judicial and military bodies in the eyes of the people. The correct conduct of the judiciary and military, inside and outside the bar chambers, courts and military headquarters, is a prerequisite for the smooth and effective functioning of the parliamentary system.

The government and legislators are being encouraged to re-establish the faith of the people in democratic institutions, and the judiciary and military are being urged to purge all members who have taken part in plots and juntas. The members of the legislature and judiciary who have not taken part in the plots and interest schemes should be proactive and exercise control over the military; they should act in unison to achieve the objectives of the Constitution. People now want to see evidence of work and service ethics in the state bureaucracy. Any failure to tame the cunning will allow the contravention of the separation of powers to continue, weaken existing checks and balances and provide for the minority through the oppression of the majority.

The protectionist bureaucracy in the system is difficult to remove completely as they have “friends” nestled in the higher judiciary. A new constitution and reform-minded bureaucrats appointed by Parliament are needed. We need well-functioning parliamentary committees which exercise legally defined regulatory powers.

Keeping the public informed about amendments can help prevent such negarchy. It also prevents interest groups, especially in the media, from interfering with due process in government and the legislature. This sharing of information also keeps the government and legislature somewhat in check. The press thus cannot easily affect public opinion in ways that are contrary to the spirit of separation of powers.

In a system of checks and balances, the judicial branch has the right to say that something is unconstitutional but should not take the place of the legislature and the military. The principle of separation of powers has been most frequently endangered through official misbehavior married to claims of defending the regime or national security. In such cases, accountability is not easy or automatic. However, potential abuses of power may be deterred. In democratic government, when the legislative authority or parliament is united or reaches a consensus by majority, it can legitimately be dominant over other branches. There is an important distinction between constitutional violations -- acting in excess of statutory authority -- and the violation of the separation of powers in the Constitution.

The principle of separation of powers is problematic and full of statutory and constitutional defects in Turkey. In the latest case of the democratic initiative to resolve the internal strife in southeastern Turkey, interest groups within the judiciary have initiated a legal case against the prosecutors and judges who released the Kurdish militants who surrendered to Turkish authorities. The interest group, the Judges and Prosecutors Association (YARSAV), is attempting to convict and punish the government and supporters of the initiative. This group is usurping the powers of the executive and the legislature. To prevent such abuse in future, the new constitution should give the legislative branch additional powers over the executive, judicial and military so that any individual can be impeached by the legislative branch to consolidate democracy rather than negarchy.

05 November 2009, Thursday
MUHAMMED ÇETİN
   
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Other Articles of the Columnist

  Turkey from negarchy to democracy
  Concerning civilian-military relations
  Democratic consolidation and Turkey
  Elites: sustainers or underminers of democratization
  Turkey and the transition to democracy
  Kurds & journalists, real & symbolic
  Eid, autumn leaves, Ergenekon and freedom of speech
  On track with Kurdish-Turkish conflict resolution
  Reflections on the second report on Turkey
  Conflict resolution in the Southeast: a new kind of listening post
  Talking conflict resolution in southeast Turkey
  Torture: breaking the breaking wheel
  The paradox of judicial independence and accountability
  Routes to self-destruction
  Untouchables’ grasp on our freedoms
  Knowledge and accountability at home and abroad
  Infotainted infotainment
  The left does not do right in Turkey
  The unbearable lightness of media being
  Democracy: how to participate and how not to
Columnists
ABDULHAMİT BİLİCİ
ABDULLAH BOZKURT
ALİ BULAÇ
ALİ H. ASLAN
AMANDA PAUL
ANDREW FINKEL
ASIM ERDİLEK
AYŞE KARABAT
BEJAN MATUR
BERİL DEDEOĞLU
BERK ÇEKTİR
BÜLENT KENEŞ
BÜLENT KORUCU
CHARLOTTE MCPHERSON
DOĞU ERGİL
EKREM DUMANLI
EMRE USLU
ETYEN MAHÇUPYAN
FATMA DİŞLİ ZIBAK
FİKRET ERTAN
GÜRKAN ZENGİN
HASAN KANBOLAT
HÜSEYİN GÜLERCE
İBRAHİM KALIN
İBRAHİM ÖZTÜRK
İHSAN DAĞI
İHSAN YILMAZ
KATHY HAMILTON
KERİM BALCI
KLAUS JURGENS
LALE KEMAL
MEHMET KAMIŞ
MICHAEL KUSER
MUHAMMED ÇETİN
MÜMTAZER TÜRKÖNE
NICOLE POPE
ÖMER TAŞPINAR
ORHAN KEMAL CENGİZ
PAT YALE
ŞAHİN ALPAY
SELÇUK GÜLTAŞLI
SUAT KINIKLIOĞLU
YAVUZ BAYDAR