In Turkish political history, both the Ottoman Empire and the elites of the Republican era made efforts for the Constitution and Parliament. With the declaration of the Second Constitutional Era in 1908, it is seen that multi-party elections were held for the first time. After the transition to the Republican regime, two attempts were made to transition to democracy, but these attempts were unsuccessful. With the end of the Second World War, Türkiye attempted to transition to a multi-party democratic system first in 1946 and then in 1950 under the influence of internal and external factors. Although the election in 1946 was held in an anti-democratic environment, the election held in 1950 is considered an honest and democratic election. In this context, it is necessary to emphasize that President İsmet İnönü and the leader of the opposition party, Celal Bayar, played an important role. Although good relations were established between the two parties in the beginning, relations between the two parties became tense as time went on and relations between the two parties came to a breaking point. However, both İnönü and Bayar managed to pacify the hardline groups within their own parties. Thus, Turkish Democracy was freed from an important obstacle. In this study, the ups and downs of the Republican People’s Party and the Democratic Party between 1946 and 1950 will be analyzed. In addition, the actors who contributed to the successful transition to democracy in 1950 will be emphasized.
Türk siyasi tarihinde hem Osmanlı Devleti’nin elitleri hem de Cumhuriyet döneminin elitleri Anayasa ve Parlamento için çaba göstermişlerdir. 1908 yılında İkinci Meşrutiyet’in ilan edilmesiyle birlikte ilk defa çok partili seçimlerin yapıldığı görülmektedir. Cumhuriyet rejimine geçildikten sonra da iki defa demokrasiye geçiş denemesinin yapıldığı bilinmektedir. Ne var ki, bu denemeler başarısızlıkla sonuçlanmıştır.
Uzun bir suskunluk döneminden sonra, İkinci Dünya Savaşı’nın bitişiyle birlikte Türkiye iç ve dış faktörlerin etkisi ile önce 1946 yılında ve sonrasında 1950 yılında çok partili demokratik sisteme geçiş teşebbüsünde bulunmuştur. 1946 yılındaki seçim anti-demokratik bir ortamda yapılmış olsa bile 1950 yılında yapılan seçim ise dürüst ve demokratik bir seçim olarak kabul edilmektedir. Bu bağlamda, Cumhurbaşkanı İsmet İnönü ve muhalefet partisinin lideri Celal Bayar’ın oldukça önemli rol oynadığını vurgulamak gerekmektedir. Başlangıçta, her iki parti arasında iyi ilişkiler kurulmuş olsa bile, siyasetin doğası gereği zaman ilerledikçe, iki parti arasında ilişkiler gerginleşmiş ve ipler kopma noktasına gelmiştir. Her iki parti içerisinde bulunan sertlik yanlısı hizipler demokrasiyi zaafa uğratmak için çeşitli engeller çıkartmışlardır. Bununla birlikte, hem İnönü hem de Bayar kendi partileri içerisindeki bu sertlik yanlısı grupları pasifize etmeyi başarmışlardır. Böylece, Türk Demokrasisi çok önemli bir engelden kurtulmuş ve yoluna devam edebilmiştir.
Bu çalışmada, Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi ve Demokrat Parti’nin 1946-1950 arasındaki inişli çıkışlı ilişkileri analiz edilecektir. Ayrıca, 1950 yılında başarılı bir demokrasiye geçiş yapılmasına katkıda bulunan aktörler üzerinde durulacaktır.
In Turkish political history, both the elites of the Ottoman Empire and the elites of the Republican period made efforts for the Constitution and Parliament. With the declaration of the Second Constitutional monarchy in 1908, it is seen that multi-party elections were held for the first time. It is known that two attempts were made to transition to democracy after the transition to the republican regime. However, these attempts were unsuccessful. After a long period of silence, with the end of the Second World War, Türkiye attempted to transition to a multi-party democratic system first in 1946 and then in 1950 under the influence of internal and external factors. Although the election in 1946 was held in an anti-democratic environment, the election held in 1950 is considered an honest and democratic election. In this context, it is necessary to emphasize that President İsmet İnönü and the leader of the opposition party, Celal Bayar, played a very important role. Although good relations were established between the two parties at the beginning, due to the nature of politics, relations between the two parties became tense as time went on and the ties came to a breaking point. The hardline factions within both parties have created various obstacles to undermine democracy. However, both İnönü and Bayar have managed to pacify these hardline groups within their own parties. Thus, Turkish Democracy has been freed from a very important obstacle and has been able to continue on its path. This study will analyze the ups and downs of the Republican People’s Party and the Democrat Party between 1946 and 1950. In addition, the actors who contributed to the successful transition to democracy in 1950 will be discussed.
Primary Language | Turkish |
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Subjects | Public Administration |
Journal Section | Research Articles |
Authors | |
Early Pub Date | July 1, 2025 |
Publication Date | June 30, 2025 |
Submission Date | March 17, 2025 |
Acceptance Date | June 24, 2025 |
Published in Issue | Year 2025 Volume: 6 Issue: 1 |