Developments regarding political parties in Turkey in the light of the democracy principle

Political parties are indispensable elements of contemporary democracies. Consequently, political parties have been the subject of constitutional and legal regulations in many countries today. Political parties, which used to have the same status as associations under the Freedom of Association Act, now have a unique place in today's legal systems. The historical development of political parties in Turkey has been the scene of a turbulent process. From the political societies operating on the basis of secrecy in the Ottoman Empire to the legitimate and institutional political parties of today, there have been significant legal advances in our country. In this study, it is aimed to handle the political party developments in Turkey chronologically and to evaluate the developments in the light of the democracy principle. The current study consists of three chapters. In the first chapter, the concept of political party is touched on, and the functions of political parties are tried to be presented by paying regard to their conceptual, national and international meanings. Afterwards, the concepts of democracy and freedom of political parties are discussed in general terms. Also, the historical development and legal status of political parties are tried to be mentioned. In the second chapter, political party developments in Turkey until the 1982 Constitution are discussed. Finally, in the third chapter, the same issue is handled through covering the period from the 1982 Constitution to the present. Our evaluations, both in the second and third chapters, have been written in a way that includes the determination of positive and negative developments in the light of the principle of democratization. Keywords: Political Parties, Democracy, In-party Democracy, Political Party Bans.