Perspectives on Post-referendum Turkey 

The referendum on constitutional amendments in Turkey on April 16 has once again brought attention to the question of the country’s future as a democracy and its political stability. How is the outcome going to affect Turkey’s prospects? In what sense, if at all, does the proposal to introduce a presidential system represent a departure from the authoritarian political tradition that has been dominant throughout the history of the Turkish republic? What is the risk that authoritarianism is going to become entrenched if the constitutional amendments are approved? And concurrently, what are the chances that we are going to see the current trend toward full-blown authoritarianism reversed and a no vote being translated eventually into a thrust for democratic reform, in the case that the presidential system is rejected?

Speakers:

Suat Kınıklıoğlu, executive director of the Ankara-based Center for Strategic Communication (STRATIM) and Senior Research Fellow at ISDP. Former Member of Parliament, Turkey. 

Halil M. Karaveli, Senior Fellow with the Turkey Center of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program Joint Center and editor of its publication The Turkey Analyst.

Evin Incir, Program Manager MENA Region, focusing on party oriented democracy support, Palmecenter 

Moderated by:

Svante E. Cornell, Director and co-founder of ISDP, Research Director of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Program, Senior Fellow for Eurasia at the American Foreign Policy Council (AFPC).