TOKAT GAZIOSMANPASA UNIVERSITY
Research Centre for Atatürk’s Principles and the History of Turkish Revolution
"On The 101. Anniversary Of The Opening Of The Grand National Assembly Of Turkey Democracy Tradition Of The Turks"
As is known, 2021 is the 101st year of the opening of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. This anniversary, which is very important for the process of institutionalization of the national will and sovereignty in Turkey, is also subjected to comprehensive activities by our official institutions. Within this framework, our university is also planning to prepare a collection of research articles which will consist of three volumes under the title of “On The 101. Anniversary Of The Opening Of The Grand National Assembly Of Turkey Democracy Tradition Of The Turks”. The reason behind this planning is that our long-established tradition of democracy has not been sufficiently mentioned in both academic and popular references. In this context, besides the isolation accumulation we encountered in the old Turkish state traditions, the practices enriched with religious references in Turkish states after the adoption of Islam are important examples of deep-rooted heritage. In the aim of reminding the world public opinion of this deep-rooted heritage, the collection entitled “On The 101. Anniversary Of The Opening Of The Grand National Assembly Of Turkey Democracy Tradition Of The Turks” is very important to reach the academicians who are experts on this subject. Accordingly, we think that the studies that are intended to be put forward in the collection will fill an important gap in the academic world.
As is known, parliaments are the places where the link between the concepts of sovereignty and national will is manifested in all its dimensions. These institutions, which are the manifestations of the national will, were formed as a result of long-term and wide-ranging political and social struggles in ancient human history. It is known that the concept of parliament, which is one of the basic institutions of modern democracies, retains a very deep-rooted and rich historical background in the context of Turkish political tradition. In other words, the idea and implementation of democracy, which has a long past in the history of many nations, also has a long development process in Turkey. In the Turkish political tradition, the culture of democracy and political representation is also more rooted than many countries in the world. The representation and parliamentary debates that began to sprout in the Ottoman Empire since the Tanzimat Period resulted in the proclamation of legitimacy in 1876. With the proclamation of Second Legitimacy (II. Meşrutiyet), the parliamentary system was again accepted and this time, the transition to the multiparty system has been achieved.
Parliamentary system experience was different during World War I and subsequently during the Years of National Struggle. The assembly, which was closed after the invasion of Istanbul on March 16, 1920, was reopened in Ankara on April 23, 1920 as the Grand National Assembly to carry out the struggle for independence. In this impressive history of democracy and representation, the Parliament has a very separate value, and the opening of the Grand National Assembly is one of the most important events in recent Turkish history. In particular, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, which assumes the roles of governing the struggle for independence and the constituent assembly, successfully bringing together the functions of full sovereignty, freedom and establishing a new state and implementing one of the best examples of political representation in this process, is an institution that has not been adequately researched despite these characteristics. The impressive history of the Parliament will also provide an important opportunity for researchers to understand democracy, representation, sovereignty, legislative and political systems.
April 23, 2020 will correspond to the 101st year of the establishment of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM). With its a century-old history, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey has become the most important institution of Turkish political life and it has continued its functions as a bastion of democracy in different periods. During this period, the Turkish Parliament, which faced four constitutions, various political regimes and many military interventions that interrupted democracy, continued to exist as an indispensable institution of Turkish political life despite all difficulties. The national sovereignty that forms the essence of the Republic of Turkey has found its application area with the new assembly.
To convey this impressive tradition of democracy to future generations, it is planned to be prepared a collection entitled “On The 101. Anniversary Of The Opening Of The Grand National Assembly Of Turkey Democracy Tradition Of The Turks”. In this collection, the studies of researchers from different disciplines of social sciences will be included. As is known, the Grand National Assembly has conducted a struggle for independence that is an example to the world, as well as the purposes of both functioning as a legislative body in Turkey and institutionalising democracy in the country. It is difficult to claim that the studies that reveal this situation with different disciplines of social sciences are sufficient. In order to eliminate this deficiency, we wanted to increase the academic studies and researches to be carried out on this accumulation of more than 100 years in a different way from the publications previously made by the Turkish Parliament.
In the selection of the articles to be included in the collection, the focus will be on 101 years of experience of the Turkish Parliament, but it is also planned that democracy practices from previous periods of Turkish history should be included chronologically. In this context, the studies that we plan to include in the collection should be original and they should contribute to the field.
SUBHEADINGS FOR THE COLLECTION
1. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
1.1. Democracy
1.2. Parliament
1.3. Pluralist democracy
1.4. Civil Society
1.5. Concepts of Sovereignty and Representation
• The concepts of sovereignty and representation from a political perspective
• The concepts of sovereignty and representation from a historical perspective
• The concepts of sovereignty and representation from a legal perspective
1.6. Election Systems and Democracy
• National Assembly Structure, and its activities, Discussions
• Political parties (Single Party and Multi-Party Periods)
1.7. Representation, Parliamentary Behaviour and Democracy
• Political parties in Turkey and their places in the history of democracy
• Intra-party democracy
• Leaders
• Party systems
• Presidential system and the concept of sovereignty
• International organizations and national sovereignty
2. HISTORICAL PROCESS (Turkish Parliament History)
2.1. Democracy and Parliament in the world
2.2. Democracy in the Turkish History
2.2.1. Representation, parliament and shura tradition in Turkish State Tradition
2.3. Democracy in the Ottoman History and the parliament experience
• Tanzimat Period
• Legitimacy and 1876 Constitution
• Constitutional period and 1909 Constitutional Amendments
• The Ottoman Parliament
• The Senate (Meclis-i Ayan)
• Political Parties
3. Democracy and Parliament from 1920 to the Present
3.1. The process which paves the way for the Grand National Assembly
3.2. The Foundation of the Grand National Assembly
3.3. Activities of the Grand National Assembly
3.4. The members of the Grand National Assembly, the duties and functions of the Grand National Assembly in our constitutional tradition
3.5. 1921-1924-1961-1982 Constitutions and the changes
4. PERSONS, EVENTS, FACTS, VENUES
5. EVENTS AND ATTEMPTS THAT INTERRUPT DEMOCRACY