Turkey

I

Currency and Banking in Turkey

The monetary unit of Turkey is the new Turkish lira (YTL), divided into 100 new kurus. The devalued YTL was introduced on January 1, 2005, and replaced the old Turkish lira (TL, to remain legal tender until the end of 2005). Due to chronically high inflation rates since the 1970s, the TL had experienced a severe depreciation in value, with one million TL equal to approximately U.S. $0.75 cents in late 2004. The devaluation of the YTL, which followed Turkey’s success in reducing inflation, dropped six zeroes from the old TL in a million-to-one conversion. The devaluation required Turkey to begin minting a new kurus, as the old kurus had been dropped years ago due to inflation. The Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey, founded in 1930, is the bank of issue. The country also has many state banks concerned with economic development, such as the Agriculture Bank of the Republic of Turkey, founded in 1863, and several commercial banks. Turkey’s principal stock exchange is in İstanbul.

J

Turkey’s Foreign Trade

Foreign trade is an increasingly important part of Turkey’s economy. Until recent decades, agricultural products were the most important exports, followed by minerals and other raw materials. Industrialization in Turkey, especially since the end of World War II, has provided a new source of exports.

The cost of Turkey’s annual imports is usually much higher than earnings from exports; in 2003 imports totaled $69.3 billion and exports $47.3 billion. The principal exports were textiles, iron and steel, cement, dried fruits, leather garments, and tobacco. Chief imports were machinery, crude petroleum, transportation vehicles, and chemical products. Considerable income is derived from tourism in Turkey; in 2006 some 18.9 million foreigners spent an estimated $16.9 billion in the country.

Turkey’s chief trading partners for exports, in order of importance, are Germany (accounting for one-quarter of all purchases), Russia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, and France. Principal sources of imports, in order of importance, are Germany, Italy, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and Russia.

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K

Transportation in Turkey

Turkey has 8,697 km (5,404 mi) of railroad track, all of which is operated by the Turkish Republic State Railways. The country also is served by 426,906 km (265,267 mi) of roads. In 2004 there were 75 passenger cars in use for every 1,000 residents. The leading ports of Turkey are İstanbul and İzmir; other important ports include Trabzon, Giresun, Samsun, and Zonguldak, on the Black Sea, and İskenderun and Mersin (İçel) in the south. The national airline, Turkish Airlines, provides domestic and foreign service; major international airports serve İstanbul, Ankara, Adana, Antalya, and İzmir.

L

Communications in Turkey

Turkey had about 30 major daily newspapers in the early 2000s, in addition to many dailies with small circulations. Larger dailies include Bugün, Cumhuriyet, Hürriyet, Milliyet, Sabah, Yeni Günaydin, and Zaman—all published in İstanbul. The country is also served by many weekly and monthly publications. The government runs four national radio networks and five television channels; there are also many privately owned radio and television stations. In 2000 there were 562 licensed radio receivers and 443 licensed television sets in use for every 1,000 residents. Telephone lines numbered 263 per 1,000 people in 2005.

VI

Government in Turkey

A

Overview

The Turkish Republic was proclaimed on October 29, 1923, after a nationalist movement led by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was victorious in the Turkish War of Independence. The war was fought against the Allied powers, who had defeated the Ottoman Empire in World War I (1914-1918), and Greece, which sought to annex large portions of Anatolia. Atatürk envisioned Turkey as a modern, secular European state, and his principles of government, called Kemalism, remain central to political life in Turkey. Kemalism emphasized, among other things, the separation of religion and politics, a leading role for the state in the economy, the promotion of a national identity, and the importance of building modern institutions.

Under Atatürk, Turkey acquired a highly centralized government that closely controlled economic and social life. By law, there was only one political party, the Republican People’s Party (Turkish acronym, CHP). Atatürk introduced sweeping reforms to modernize Turkey. Laws forbade men from wearing the fez, a traditional hat associated with Ottoman backwardness. Religious courts were abolished in 1924, and Islam lost its status as the state religion in 1928. Under Atatürk, Turkey adopted the Western Gregorian calendar in place of the Muslim lunar calendar, and a modified Latin alphabet took the place of Arabic letters, which had previously been used to write Turkish. Atatürk also introduced universal public education in Turkey. Women gained the right to inherit property, the right to divorce, and in 1934 the right to vote and serve in parliament.

The era of multiparty democracy began in 1946, when the newly founded Democratic Party won 62 seats in parliament, joining the ruling CHP. In 1950, the Democratic Party won the national elections. However, increasing interparty tensions created a crisis, and a military junta seized power; the junta governed from 1960 to 1961. A new constitution was adopted in 1961, and general elections followed. No clear majority emerged, and a series of coalition governments ruled the country. The military intervened in the political process in 1970 and again in 1980, each time amid government paralysis and social agitation.

The military remained in power for three years after the 1980 coup d’état, during which time it imposed martial law, dissolved political parties, and banned labor strikes. The military government also drew up a new constitution, which was approved by a national referendum in 1982. The constitution established a popularly elected unicameral (single-chamber) national assembly with full legislative powers, a prime minister and a cabinet responsible to the national assembly, and a constitutional court to review the constitutionality of legislation. It provided for a president, with extensive executive powers and the right to veto legislation, to be elected by the assembly for a term of seven years. The constitution also authorized the military, through the National Security Council, to advise the government and to impose emergency rule whenever it perceived a serious threat to the political system.

Turkey has been under civilian rule since 1983. However, the military intervened in the political process in February 1997 and ordered the government to implement an 18-point list of measures to reinforce the secular establishment. Since then, Turkey’s civilian governments have been wary of further military intervention, and this concern has constrained governmental policy.

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