Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
CTAD-CUMHURIYET TARIHI ARASTIRMALARI DERGISI, cilt.18, sa.36, ss.943-961, 2022 (ESCI)
The press has a special place in the development of democracy in Turkey. The press within the democratization movements that emerged with modernization fed this process by opening the society to new ideas. On the other hand, paradoxically, it was effective in the contraction and interruption of the development in this direction, especially due to its impact on the military coups in the Republican period. In this respect, it is a necessity to consider and evaluate the press in order to understand the historical development of Turkish democracy and to put it in the right position. The transition to democracy in Turkey in the conjuncture of post-World War II is one of the most important milestones in modern Turkish political history. Although it was not as effective as in the period of military coups, the attitude of the Turkish press was significantly determinant in the conclusion of this transition period in terms of the political regime. It was also a period when democratization was tested in terms of contemporary Turkish intellectuals and the press as well as showing the maturity level of Turkish democracy, which has early three-quarters of a century of parliamentary experience, In this period different polarizations emerged in the press. While there was a fascism-democracy conflict in the international arena, there was an intense One-Party-democracy debate on the domestic front. In the Turkish press, which is one of the places where this segregation is seen, newspapers are almost divided into two. In this period, newspapers such as Vakit, Ulus, Aksam, Son Telgraf, Son Posta insistently defended the continuation of the current single-party regime; Newspapers such as Cumhuriyet, Vatan, Tan and Tanin passionately advocated the multi-party system. The polemics between some writers of these newspapers not only reflect the intellectual aspect of the culture of democracy but also constitute important data on the demands and expectations of Turkish society on this issue. On the other hand, discussions on the consequences of the change experienced in this period in Turkish political thought still continue. On the one hand, it is argued that this transition is an appropriate decision, while on the other hand, there are opinions that the decision in this direction is wrong and untimely. These evaluations, which reflect the attitudes and approaches of the parties on the situation of Turkish democracy in the mentioned period, give some clues about the historical background of today's political and social problems. In this respect, it is useful to examine these polemics in order to make a holistic assessment of Turkish democracy. This study aims to contribute to an evaluation in this respect while the newspapers of the period and the literature on the subject are used as a source.