Transition to Multi-Party System PDF

TCT 102 HISTORY OF THE REPUBLIC OF TÜRKİYE Asst. Prof. Gözde Orhan  TCT102 TCT 102 World War II HISTORY OF and THE Transition to Multi-Party System REPUBLIC...

TCT 102 HISTORY OF THE REPUBLIC OF TÜRKİYE Asst. Prof. Gözde Orhan  TCT102 TCT 102 World War II HISTORY OF and THE Transition to Multi-Party System REPUBLIC OF TÜRKİYE Altınbaş Üniversitesi HIST 102 – History of Turkish Republic II  Foreign Policy in World War II Turkey was concerned with possible aggression by Italy occupation of Albania by Italy in April 1939 drove Turkey into alliance with France and Britain Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact in August 1939 a tremendous shock to Ankara Anglo-French-Turkish Treaty of Mutual Assistance signed in October 1939 stipulated that Turkey would collaborate effectively with France and Britain in the event of an act of aggression in the Mediterranean (Italy) A treaty of friendship was signed with Germany in June 1941 Bulgaria sided with the Axis powers; Germany occupied Greece and invaded the Soviet Union Allied pressure on Turkey increased after the German defeat at Stalingrad in November 1942 Turkey resisted Turkey officially declared war against Germany in February 1945 to become the founding member of the United Nations  Economy during World War II Ministry of Defense’s share of the budget increased from % 30 to %50 number of soldiers in the Turkish army increased from 120,000 to 1.5 million National Defense Law (Milli Koruma Kanunu) in January 1940 Gave the government unlimited powers to fix prices, requisition materials, and even to impose forced labor Booming black market economy War-profiteers Wealth Tax (Varlık Vergisi) passed in November 1942 targeted especially non-Muslim, especially Jewish businessmen (paid 55% total tax revenue) withdrawn in March 1944 Tax on Agricultural Produce (Toprak Mahsulleri Vergisi) passed in April 1943 Aimed to tax the new wealth in the countryside  Beginnings of Democratization 1944: Defeat of the Axis Powers, Turkey sided with the Allied Powers İsmet İnönü emphasized the democratic, parliamentary character of the regime in Turkey, November 1944 August 1945: Postdam Conference: Coalition between the Western Powers and the Soviet Union comes to disintegrate, Ismet Inonu’s pledge of further democratization, May 1945  External Pressure for Democratization Deterioration of relations with the Soviet Union after the War the friendship treaty was not renewed Soviet demands for the revision of borders in northeastern Anatolia and a joint Turkish-Russian defense force in the Straits In August 1956, the United States asked Turkey to take a firm line against the Soviets The Truman Doctrine in March 1947 USA would help defend “free nations” Military and financial support for Turkey and Greece The Marshall Plan in June 1947 Financial support to the European countries to help them rebuild their economies İstanbul Kemerburgaz Üniversitesi 6  Land Distribution Law Proposed in May 1945 Aimed to provide adequate land for farmers who had none or little land by distributing unused state lands, lands from pious foundations, lands without unclear ownership and lands from landowners who owned more than 500 acre of land Peasants would also be given 20-years interest-free loans İstanbul Kemerburgaz Üniversitesi 7  Rise of the Opposition Opposition to the Land Distribution Bill Led by Menderes, a large landowner from Aydın argued that the land reform would undermine the security of property, impede investment, lead to inefficient farming Memorandum of Four (Dörtlü Takrir) in June 1945 initiated by Adnan Menderes, Celal Bayar, Refik Koraltan, Fuat Köprülü demanded democratization and full implementation of the constitution  Democratic Party Land Distribution Bill Accepted Memorandum of Four was rejected the four was not punished Speech by İsmet İnönü on 1 November 1945 main shortcoming of Turkish democracy was the lack of an opposition party general elections scheduled for 1947 would be free and direct (as opposed to the two-stage system still in force) Democratic Party officially formed in January 1946 İstanbul Kemerburgaz Üniversitesi 9  Democratic Party and Liberal Populism Democratic Party Represented the disintegration of the traditional power bloc, embodied in the RPP the interests of commercial and business classes Pledged to employ market oriented economic policies at the expense of state-run economy invest in the development of agrarian sector Slacken the militant secularism of the RPP Supported by small merchants urban petty bourgeoisie commercial farmers conservative peasantry urban intelligentsia  Liberalism and Opposition May 1946: Party Congress of the RPP a number of liberalizing measures undertaken Direct elections, position of the permanent chairman of the party abolished, Wartime Economy ended Liberalization of Import and Tariff Regimes, Devaluation of Turkish Lira Protectionist-Statist Industrialization Discarded Elections of July 1946 DP won 62 seats out of 465 1947-1950: Tensions between the Republican People’s Party (RPP) and the Democratic Party Elections in May 1950: DP 53.4% (408 seats), 39.8% (69 seats) Democratic Party in Power President: Celal Bayar Prime Minister: Adnan Menderes Ismet Inonu: RPP Adnan Menderes: Prime Celal Bayar: President Leader Minister of the DP in 1950-60 government