Political commentator Mümtaz’er Türköne has warned that Turkey is sliding into a state where democratic norms are replaced by a naked contest of power—leaving the opposition no choice but to resist.
In a sharply worded column published on Monday, Türköne argued that democracy in Turkey has broken down into a battle of brute force, with law no longer serving as the common ground between government and opposition. Instead, he claims, both sides have been drawn into a political theatre where power—not legality—sets the rules.
“Once the government abandons the law, the opposition cannot be expected to bind itself to something that no longer exists,” Türköne wrote in The Turkish Post. His article, titled ‘The state cannot be governed without committing crimes’, rebuts pro-government adviser Mehmet Uçum’s recent claim that “democratic opposition cannot be conducted through criminal acts”.
Türköne contends that this framing misses the point: “If the state itself is governed through unlawful means, then politics will inevitably move outside the law,” he said. The commentator invoked the concept of the “right to resistance”, a principle embedded in foundational democratic charters such as the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and the English Bill of Rights.
Bugünkü “Suç işlemeden devlet yönetilmez” başlıklı yazım muhalefetin suç işleme hakkına dair:
Suç işleyerek muhalefet edilir mi?
Suç işleyerek devlet yönetilirse, hukuk dışına çıkarak muhalefet de yapılır. Burada temel prensip hukuk değil, güç ilişkisidir. Hukuku zaten iktidar…— Mümtaz’er Türköne (@Mumtazer) June 9, 2025
The former nationalist-turned-democratic reform advocate has become one of the most outspoken critics of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s administration. In this latest piece, Türköne accuses the government of deploying state institutions—including the judiciary—as instruments of repression.
“A legal case is no longer being played out,” he wrote. “This is a power play.”
He characterised the ruling bloc as a hollow shell driven by “a few palace advisers and judges”, while much of the party structure, bureaucracy, business elite, media and even its loyal inner core remain disengaged from the escalating crackdown. “The government is cutting the very branch it sits on,” he warned.
Türköne maintains that the opposition is not drawn into confrontation by choice, but by necessity. “It is the government’s script that has pulled the opposition into this line of resistance,” he wrote. With the ruling alliance having “lost hope in the ballot box”, Türköne argues that it is now attempting to eliminate its rivals using the last tools at its disposal – judicial power and coercion.
Despite his critique, Türköne insists that the solution lies in the return to legality. He calls for an end to pre-trial detentions, respect for the principle of the natural judge (ensuring that individuals are tried by predetermined legal authorities rather than special courts), and judicial independence. “These are the conditions that can move the political climate from power struggle to democratic competition,” he said.
Echoing the revolutionary logic of Saint-Just during the French Revolution, Türköne warned that regimes which fail to abide by the law ultimately fall to chaos. “The law is not just a restraint—it is the ground they stand on,” he concluded.
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