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The confrontation between the AKP and the secular opposition took on a new dimension in 2007 when Turkish authorities claimed to have uncovered a cache of weapons belonging to an ultranationalist network plotting to overthrow the government. The revelation launched a series of lengthy interrelated investigations that saw hundreds of nationalist figures, including a number of high-ranking military officers, arrested and put on trial for having allegedly participated in antigovernment conspiracies. Three senior officers were convicted in 2012 and sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment, and more than 300 other officers received lighter sentences. Constitutional reform

Meanwhile, in February 2008 the parliament voted to amend Turkey’s constitution by eliminating a ban barring the head scarf from being worn on university campuses. The amendment aggravated a long-standing fault line within Turkish society: while portions of the population supported the liberty to wear the head scarf, others feared that the change endangered Turkey’s secular ideals and could lead to increasing pressure upon those women who choose not to wear the garment. Galvanized by the amendment, opponents of the AKP renewed charges that the party’s Islamist agenda threatened Turkish secular order. In March 2008 the constitutional court voted unanimously to hear a case that called for the disbanding of the AKP and a five-year ban of Erdoğan and dozens of other party members from Turkish politics, and in early June it annulled the amendment. The AKP successfully retained its position, however, when in July 2008 the court ruled narrowly against the party’s closure.

Turkey’s constitution was further amended in September 2010, when Turkish voters approved 26 amendments backed by Erdoğan and the AKP. Largely designed to bring the country in line with EU standards on democracy and to support the country’s bid for membership in that organization, the amendments included measures that bolstered human rights and held the military accountable to civilian courts for crimes against the state or against constitutional order. The amendments also included measures that expanded the influence of the president and parliament over judicial appointments. The constitutional reforms were widely praised on the international level, but within the country criticism was raised by the opposition, which alleged that the measures would allow Erdoğan and the AKP to exercise control over the military and judiciary, two institutions with which they had clashed in the past.

In 2011 the AKP campaigned for parliamentary elections on a pledge to replace Turkey’s existing constitution. In June the AKP won by large margins in the elections, securing a strong majority in the Grand National Assembly and another term as prime minister for Erdoğan. However, it fell short of the two-thirds majority needed to unilaterally write a new constitution.

In early June 2013 Turkey saw an unprecedented display of discontent after a small demonstration in Istanbul over plans to convert a public park into a shopping mall was violently broken up by police. The incident sparked an outpouring of anger against the Erdoğan- and AKP-led government. Demonstrations against economic inequality as well as against the government’s perceived authoritarianism and religious conservatism quickly spread through the country and were, in many instances, met by riot police firing tear gas and rubber bullets. Erdoğan responded defiantly, dismissing the protesters as thugs and vandals and holding rallies for AKP supporters. Erdoğan becomes president

In August 2014 Ahmet Davutoğlu took over the post of prime minister from Erdoğan, who was prohibited by AKP rules from seeking another term. Davutoğlu, an AKP member who had previously served for five years as foreign minister under Erdoğan, was widely expected to follow the course set by his predecessor in both domestic and foreign affairs. Erdoğan remained in public life, running for and winning the largely ceremonial role of president.

In a parliamentary election in June 2015, the AKP fell short of an absolute majority for the first time in its history, receiving just 41 percent of the vote. The results were largely seen as a rebuke to Erdoğan, who had made it known that he would seek constitutional changes that would expand the powers of the presidency. The setback was a brief one for the AKP, however. Negotiations over the summer failed to produce a governing coalition, triggering a snap parliamentary election on November 1. The AKP won easily, regaining its majority and falling just short of the number of seats needed to unilaterally call a referendum on expanding the powers of the presidency. Coup attempt, strengthening of the presidency, and Erdoğan’s reelection

On the night of July 15, 2016, a small faction within the army attempted to launch a coup against the AKP-led government, deploying tanks and troops to the streets of Ankara and Istanbul and seizing facilities, including television stations and bridges. In a statement, the coup plotters accused the government of eroding the democratic order and damaging the rule of law in Turkey. The coup was poorly planned, though, with no backing from the public and only narrow support within the military, so it began to falter almost as soon as it started. Erdoğan, who had been vacationing on the Mediterranean coast, rushed back to Istanbul, using social media to quickly rally his supporters to confront coup plotters in the streets. The coup plotters were soon overwhelmed by loyal military units and civilians, and by morning the government was firmly back in control. Nearly 300 people, mostly civilians, had been killed in confrontations. Over the years that followed, Erdoğan conducted a wide purge, arresting tens of thousands of people and removing more than 100,000 people from their jobs—including police, soldiers, academics, and civil servants—over suspicions that they might have been sympathetic to the coup.

Turkey: 2016 coup attemptSupporters of Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan celebrating the failure of a coup attempt, Istanbul, 2016.© esrk/Shutterstock.com

In January 2017 the Grand National Assembly approved legislation to hold a referendum on constitutional amendments that would dramatically expand the powers of the presidency. Under the proposed amendments, the president would become head of government as well as head of state and wield increased authority to make governmental appointments and pass laws by decree, while the post of prime minister would be eliminated. Erdoğan, who had sought such measures since becoming president in 2014, campaigned vigorously for their approval in the referendum. Narrowly approved by voters on April 16, 2017, the changes were set to be implemented after the next elections, originally due to take place in November 2019. Early elections were called, however, and were held on June 24, 2018. Prior to the elections, the AKP entered into an alliance with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). The alliance collectively received a majority of the vote in the parliamentary contest, and Erdoğan won an outright majority in the presidential contest. The constitutional changes were then implemented in July 2018 with the inauguration of the new government. Currency crisis and economic recession

The second half of 2018 was marked by an economic downturn sparked by a currency crisis. A number of vulnerabilities had been introduced into the economy in recent years as a result of political instability combined with populist economic measures, including an ambitious boom in public works projects and Erdoğan’s open opposition to raising interest rates. A growing financial downturn and decreasing investor confidence were exacerbated in July when Erdoğan appointed his son-in-law as the country’s finance minister. Just weeks later the central bank declined to raise interest rates despite market pressures to do so. Then, on August 10, the United States announced tariffs against Turkish steel and aluminum exports. The lira took a hit with each event and lost a quarter of its value by mid-August. On September 13 the central bank relieved some of the tension by hiking interest rates, and the value of the lira slowly improved. Still, the crisis caused a lingering slowdown in economic growth, and by 2019 the Turkish economy had entered into recession.