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2012 Jura: A Pecsi Tudomanyegyetem Allam- es Jogtudomanyi Karanak Tudomanyos Lapja 82 (2012)
"Moderate Conservative" Notion and Policy in Turkey

handle is hein.journals/jura2012 and id is 82 raw text is: Assoc. Prof M. Qagatay Okutan: Moderate Conservative Notion and Policy in Turkey Assoc. Prof. M. agatay Okutan Karadeniz Technical University Faculty of economics and administrative sciences Department of public admi- nistaration Trabzon/TURKEY Moderate Conservative Notion and Policy in Turkey Conservatism is a notion used abundantly with adjectives before it and in this regard, it doesn't have a privilege in Turkey. The variety of the mean- ings given to the concept without doubt, is a result of the idea that it is not right to explain the notion of conservatism with universal principles; in other words, the apathy towards the concept of ideology, and as its extension, is a result of various historical practices that would be the basis for each country's conservatism. Although this enriches the theoretical studies literature, also causes a severe conceptual chaos. Thus, one has to consider the conceptual am- biguity for a discussion based on Turkey or consider that the subject must be limited to its one or a few dimensions. 1. Which Conservatism? (In Theory and in Turkey) Considering conservatism as a notion developed by the reactions of aristocracy; means to have a stance against the French Revolution, Enlightenment, liber- alism, and finally, against bourgeoisie. Indeed, based on this thesis, S. P. Huntington defines conservatism as the protectionism of permanent institutions and an autonomous idea system. Layton, 1982:4). Although this approach, which can be found in many studies on conservatism, makes theoretical definitions easy, it can be misleading in practice. However, when we think about the fact that conservatism does not propose a universal political model, it would not be right to tell that a stance against liberalism would be come prominent in every case. L. Kdker states that the reaction against liberalism has an important place in the historical development of conservatism but also states that it does not occur on the same level in all countries.1 There is no doubt that conservatism had sub- stantially improved as a reaction against the French revolution. However, it must be noted that reaction against the revolution shows itself in two different ways. B. B. Ozipek, makes a distinction between the Continental Europe and Anglo-American world. Alongside the reactionary conservatism of the Continental Europe that praises pre-revolution in all of its aspects, there is also the Anglo-American type moderate conservatism.2 The first idea was led by Maistre, and the second by Burke. It can be said that within time, the reactionary type of Conservatism accepted the idea of change. In this regard, it wouldn't be right to say that conserva- tism represents a stance against all kinds of change. This is a result of the dominance of the moderate type of conservatism until today. So, if we have to state with the accurate evaluation of Ozipek; although conservatism has a significant distrust against the unknown, it is not the same with reaction, which represents a stance against change in all situations.3 The most effective sentence, giving a meaning to this distinction, belongs to Burke: change is the means of our preservation. In his book Reflec- tions, Burke has established the main principles of conservatism and this has maintained its effects until today. Accordingly; value given to religion and history, and the concern that reforms would bring injustice against individuals, importance of private property and the conception of society as a living organism come forward as the main foundations of Burke conservatism.4 It is possible to assess Turkish conservatism based on the principles established by Burke, the pioneer of Anglo-American conservatism. In this regard, it is useful to examine the similarities of the said conservatism and the conservatism embodied in Turkey. This examination is also important for giving a meaning to the current political trends and the practices of the parties in power in Turkey. It should be immediately noted that the scope of this study will be limited to the stance of conservatism against religion and change. Another issue to be stated beforehand at this stage is that it is possible to assess Turkish conservatism from many different angles, as stated above. The preference of researching the similarities between Anglo-American conservatism comes from its func- tionality for understanding the political develop- ments and government practices. In other words, the moderate theme dominant in Turkish conserva- tism is essential in its key function in assessing the Turkish political life and it should be taken as the meeting point of theory and practicality. 2. On Turkish Conservatism between the Old and the New, or on Change The process of modernization in Turkey can be traced to the last century of the Ottoman Empire. Without JURA 2012/1. 82

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