By Zach Weigel
With the passage of Easter and recent bout of warmer weather it appears safe to say that spring has finally sprung. Yet for those of us attuned to the news we know that the current change in season has been accompanied by more than the usual sentiment of springtime bliss. Growing speculation over North Korea’s nuclear capabilities, consternation at President Trump’s abrupt decisions to bomb both Syria and ISIS, and a growing interest in France’s presidential election have dominated the international news headlines recently while health care, tax reform, and the federal budget have taken hold of domestic politics.
There are currently no shortage of issues to captivate our attention. Nevertheless, another startling bit of news seems to have been overlooked. Among all the tumult, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan managed to overhaul his country’s Constitution. Fueled by the global trend of nationalism and inspired by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s consolidation of power, the new Turkish constitution effectively elevates Erdoğan from an illiberally elected leader to an outright dictator.
Like Putin, Erdoğan served as his country’s prime minister before becoming president. Then, also following in Putin’s footsteps, when Erdoğan reached the term limit as prime minister he opted to vie for the second most important role in a parliamentary system: president. Thus, as the current president of Turkey, Erdoğan technically functions as second in command behind the prime minister; however, under the new Constitution, the position of prime minister has been eliminated, making Erdoğan once again the top dog in Turkey. A loophole also would allow Erdoğan to maintain the presidency for 15 years, until 2029, further bolstering his grip on power.
Moreover, the new Constitution strengthens the president’s appointment powers while diminishing the ability of Parliament and the judiciary to check the executive’s (Erdoğan’s) power. And as if these measures weren’t enough, citing the failed military coup attempt this past summer, the new Constitution allows the president to prolong the “state of emergency” in Turkey as he works to revamp the struggling economy and procure stability.
Now given that this constitutional revision was narrowly passed, 51 to 49 percent, according to Turkish state media sources, how exactly did Erdoğan manage to clear the path for authoritarian reign? Well, if you ask critics, to no surprise they proclaim that the election was rigged.
Nonetheless, supporters believe it is necessary for Erdoğan to consolidate power if he hopes to get anything done, and this might be a valid argument. Take American politics as an example. President Trump is finding out that, as history has shown, presidents often fail to accomplish their goals. There are many reasons for these shortcomings, but arguably the most important reason stems from the difficulty of slipping presidential objectives through other branches of government (a.k.a. the legislature and courts).
So if the new Constitution gives Erdoğan the capacity to circumvent the constraints of other branches of government, he could theoretically have a greater chance to enact his objectives. Yet as the cliché goes, with great power comes great responsibility, meaning that with less accountability the onus is on Erdoğan to deliver.
In the U.S., the writers of our Constitution believed that giving too much power to one person was a slippery slope that could lead to tyrannical rule. With the implementation of Turkey’s new Constitution, I certainly hope that these fears aren’t realized, because if they are, the nearly 80 million people in Turkey will be subjected to increasing oppression as Erdoğan consolidates power as Putin has in Russia.
