POL3352 Issues and Problems in Turkish PoliticsBahçeşehir UniversityDegree Programs SOCIOLOGYGeneral Information For StudentsDiploma SupplementErasmus Policy StatementNational QualificationsBologna Commission
SOCIOLOGY
Bachelor TR-NQF-HE: Level 6 QF-EHEA: First Cycle EQF-LLL: Level 6

Course Introduction and Application Information

Course Code Course Name Semester Theoretical Practical Credit ECTS
POL3352 Issues and Problems in Turkish Politics Fall 3 0 3 6
This catalog is for information purposes. Course status is determined by the relevant department at the beginning of semester.

Basic information

Language of instruction: English
Type of course: Non-Departmental Elective
Course Level: Bachelor’s Degree (First Cycle)
Mode of Delivery: Hybrid
Course Coordinator : Assoc. Prof. ESRA ALBAYRAKOĞLU
Recommended Optional Program Components: None
Course Objectives: The main objective of this course is to enable the students to better understand and analyze politics in Turkey. A major theme of the course concerns the problems that Turkey has faced in consolidating its democracy. In view of the current trend toward growing authoritarianism in Turkish political life, the issue of democracy becomes even more important than in previous years. The course will begin with an overview of Turkish politics during the past sixty years. We will then discuss several major analytical approaches that are used in explaining the problems of democracy. This will be followed by an examination of the key political institutions and processes. In the last part, we will examine a number of major issues in contemporary Turkish politics.

Learning Outcomes

The students who have succeeded in this course;
The students who have succeeded in this course;
I. Overview major attempts at modernization in the Ottoman Empire beginning in late 18th century.
II. Highlight the basic reasons for the decline and fall of the Ottoman Empire.
III. Identify major political structures, institutions, actors, and ideologies in the Turkish Republic.
IV. Identify the basic dynamics of transition from single party to multi–party politics in Republican Turkey.
V. Identify continuities and ruptures between Ottoman and Republican Turkey.
VI. Summarize major analytical approaches to the study of politics in Turkey.
VII. Highlight major factors that contributed to the failure of democratic consolidation in Turkey.

Course Content

Democracy: definitional issues; Single and multidimensional conceptions of democracy; Types of dictatorships; Theories of democratization; Globalization, Competitive Authoritarianism, Authoritarian Populism

Weekly Detailed Course Contents

Week Subject Related Preparation
1) Introduction to the Course
2) Tanzimat and the Second Constitutional Period
3) The Republic (1923-1950)
4) The DP era
5) Turkish politics (1960-1980)
6) The 12th September Regime
7) WRAP UP & Q/A
8) Fragmented politics (1989-2002)
9) The AKP era
10) Presentations
11) Presentations
12) Presentations
13) Presentations
14) WRAP UP & Q/A

Sources

Course Notes / Textbooks: Zürcher, Erik Jan. 2004. Turkey: A Modern History, Revised 3rd Edition, London – New York: I.B. Tauris.
Ahmad, Feroz. 1977. The Turkish Experiment in Democracy, 1950-1975, Boulder: Westview Press.
Ahmad, Feroz. 1993. The Making of Modern Turkey, London and New York: Routledge.
Kasaba, Reşat (ed.), 2008. The Cambridge History of Turkey Volume 4: Turkey in the Modern World, New York: Cambridge University Press.
Sayarı, Sabri and Esmer, Yılmaz (eds.). 2002. Politics, Parties and Elections in Turkey, Boulder and London: Lynne Rienner Publishers.
Arat, Yeşim and Pamuk, Şevket. 2019. Turkey Between Democracy and Authoritarianism, New York: Cambridge University Press. Steven Levitsky and Lucan A. Way (2006) ‘Linkage versus Leverage: Rethinking the International Dimension of Regime Change’, Comparative Politics 38(4), pp. 379-400.
Steven Levitsky and Lucan A. Way (2002) ‘Elections Without Democracy: The Rise of Competitive Authoritarianism’, Journal of Democracy 13(2), pp. 51-65.
Cas Mudde and C. R. Kaltwasser (2017) Populism: A Very Short Introduction New York: OUP
Jan-Werner Müller (2016) What Is Populism? Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
References: Mevcut Değil

Evaluation System

Semester Requirements Number of Activities Level of Contribution
Presentation 1 % 30
Midterms 1 % 30
Final 1 % 40
Total % 100
PERCENTAGE OF SEMESTER WORK % 60
PERCENTAGE OF FINAL WORK % 40
Total % 100

ECTS / Workload Table

Activities Number of Activities Workload
Course Hours 10 30
Study Hours Out of Class 14 116.5
Presentations / Seminar 1 0.5
Midterms 1 1.5
Final 1 1.5
Total Workload 150

Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes

No Effect 1 Lowest 2 Low 3 Average 4 High 5 Highest
           
Program Outcomes Level of Contribution
1) To learn and compare major sociology perspectives, both classical and contemporary, and apply all of them to analysis of social conditions.
2) To be able to identify the basic methodological approaches in building sociological and anthropological knowledge at local and global levels
3) To be able to use theoretical and applied knowledge acquired in the fields of statistics in social sciences.
4) To have a basic knowledge of other disciplines (including psychology, history, political science, communication studies and literature) that can contribute to sociology and to be able to make use of this knowledge in analyzing sociological processes
5) To have a knowledge and practice of scientific and ethical principles in collecting, interpreting and publishing sociological data also develop ability how to share this data with experts and lay people, using effective communication skills
6) To develop competence in analyzing and publishing sociological knowledge by using computer software for quantitative and qualitative analysis; and develop an attitute for learning new techniques in these fields.
7) To identify and to have a knowledge of the theories related to urban and rural sociology and demography, and political sociology, sociology of gender, sociology of body, visual sociology, sociology of work, sociology of religion, sociology of knowledge and sociology of crime.
8) To have knowledge of how sociology is positioned as a scientific discipline from a philosophical and historical perspective
9) To have the awareness of social issues in Turkish society, to develop critical perspective in analysing these issues and to have a knowledge of the works of Turkish sociologists and to be able to transfer this knowledge
10) To have the awareness of social issues and global societal processes and to apply sociological analysis to development and social responsibility projects
11) To have the ability to define a research question, design a research project and complete a written report for various fields of sociology, either as an individual or as a team member.
12) To be able to transfer the knowledge gained in the areas of sociology to the level of secondary school.