Can Israeli Status Quo Model Help the Post-February 28 Turkey Solve its Problem?

Abstract

As a result of the February 28, 1997, incident, Islamist parties have been ostracized and excluded from governmental politics. This has caused serious legitimacy, participation and representation crises in the Turkish polity. This study examines whether the Justice and Development Party’s (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi-AKP) landslide victory in the Nov. 2002 elections has put an end to the Feb. 28 Process. It also suggests that further liberalization of the Turkish regime will be possible only if the religious and secular parties come together and agree on the rules for future engagement. Thus, with reference to President İnönü’s July 12 Declaration and the Israeli status quo model of 1947, this essay attempts to sketch out these rules of engagement.

Keywords: Turkey, Israel, Secularism, Religion, Judaism, Islam