Overview
- Authors:
-
-
Ioannis N. Grigoriadis
-
Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Bilkent University, Bilkent, Ankara, Turkey
- Makes a significant contribution to the literature of Greek and Turkish politics
- Argues that the dominance of majoritarianism can be a hindrance to democratic consolidation
- Uses a combination of qualitative research methods, content analysis and case studies to compare the two countries
- Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
Access this book
Other ways to access
Table of contents (7 chapters)
-
Front Matter
Pages i-xxii
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
About this book
This comparative study explores the impact of populist majoritarianism on Greek and Turkish democratic transition. Using case studies from Greece and Turkey, the author argues that while majoritarianism is often celebrated as a manifestation of popular sovereignty, it can undermine institutional performance and even stifle the process of democratic consolidation, contributing to a confrontational and inefficient democratic regime in cases of transition states where levels of social capital are low and social polarization is high. It is shown that building up a “mild democracy” requires maturity of institutions and an efficient system of checks and balances and implementation control mechanisms, while building consensus and trust in societies torn by ethnic, religious and ideological divides is not a luxury but a permissive condition for democratic consolidation and economic prosperity. This book will be of use to students and scholars interested in the fields of Greek and Turkishpolitics, comparative politics and democracy.
Reviews
“This book is a rare and significant example of comparative studies of Greece and Turkey. The two states, despite certain differences, share important characteristics in their constitutional and political development. Perhaps the most important of these common features is, as Grigoriadis convincingly argues, the majoritarian drive, with its well-known consequences such as increasing political polarization, division of the society between “we” and “they”, “friends and foes”, the weakening of the checks and balance mechanisms, and the danger of a drift toward “competitive authoritarianism” as described by Steven Levitsky and Lucan Way. The book supports Arend Lijphart’s thesis that especially in divided societies, a “consensus”, not a “majoritarian”, model of democracy is the only workable one.” (Professor Ergun Özbudun, İstanbul Şehir University, Turkey) “Grigoriadis has produced a theoretically important, timely, and welcome monograph. Theoretically, it inscribes itself squarely in thedistinguished tradition of Lijphart and Linz and forcefully argues in favour of “gentler” democracies, constructed on a system of checks and balances, rooted on the rule of law, eschewing the perils of polarization associated with what Alexis de Tocqueville memorably described as the “tyranny of the majority”, and driven by a positive sum logic capable of promoting consensus and compromise in social and political discourse. In addition, its cogent criticism of the dangers of majoritarianism constitutes a most timely and convincing response to the challenges ominously brought forward by the rising tide of populism in established democracies, including the United States and Europe. Finally, the book is to be welcomed in that it succeeds in integrating two heretofore relatively undertheorized countries, Greece and Turkey, into the theoretical debates informing comparative politics.” (Professor P. Nikiforos Diamandouros, European Ombudsman (2003-2013) and University of Athens, Greece)
Authors and Affiliations
-
Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Bilkent University, Bilkent, Ankara, Turkey
Ioannis N. Grigoriadis
About the author
Ioannis N. Grigoriadis is Associate Professor and Jean Monnet Chair of European Studies at the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Bilkent University, Turkey. He is the author of Instilling Religion in Greek and Turkish Nationalism: A “Sacred Synthesis” (2012) and Trials of Europeanization: Turkish Political Culture and the European Union (2009).
