The AK Party Closure Case: Domestic Situation and International Reactions

The closure case against AK Party heralds a new era in Turkish politics marked by the increased intervention of the judiciary in politics. In asmuch as the governing party enjoys support of half of the Turkish electorate, the case has harmed the image of Turkish democracy and consequently risks jeopardising Turkey's quest for full membership in the EU. The overall reaction of the West to the case indicates that the Western political and intellectual elites avoid the conventional Islamist-secularist dichatomy in interpreting Turkish politics. Top-level EU bureaucrats have emphasized that closure would seriously jeopardise the process of membership. AK Party needs to accelerate the democratization process by focusing on the rest of the constitutional reforms required for EU membership.