The changing concept of democracy in the Turkish Constitutions of Republican Period

Democracy, whose origins date back to ancient Greece, is the ideal system of government adopted by modern states today. Nevertheless, this ideal system of government has been conceptually subject to different interpretations since the time of its emergence in ancient Greece. This phonemenon has revealed different approaches and these approaches related theories of democracy, although certain qualities have remained constant. Democracy is also more than just a system of government, it is also a culture. In this context, the main argument of this study is that a functional democratic system in a state can only be realized with the establishment of a culture of democracy. Such that in democratic regimes where democratic culture is lacking, it can be seen that defective democracy practices, moreover, authoritarian and totalitarian tendencies are associated with democracy. Within democratic systems, constitutions are not mere legal texts, they are important texts that limit authority, prevent arbitrariness, operate the governmental system and regulate and shape the social structure. The constitution-making processes, on the other hand, are intertwined with the phenomenon of democratic culture and are of great importance in terms of showing the level of democratic culture of a society. Our study which is dealing with the history of Turkish democracy by analysing the social and political events of each constitutional period within the political system established by the Turkish constitutions of the Republican era, is analysing the establishment of democracy and democratic system in Turkey, its meaning, its defective aspects and dilemmas and in the last instance is searching for answers to how to fix these dilemmas and how to reach to a more functional democratic system. Keywords: Constitution, Democracy, Theories of Democracy, Culture of Democracy, The History of Turkish Constitutions, The History of Turkish Democracy, Tutelary Democracy.