Turkey plays a crucial role in the contemporary Islamic world through the demonstration effect of its deepening democracy, booming economy and increasingly independent foreign policy. Reluctance to export any political model or to meddle in the internal affairs of other countries increases its appeal for reformists in many Muslim-majority nations. Some observers, impressed by the coexistence of democracy and Islam in Turkey, propose it as a model for democratization in the Middle East.¹ Despite its unique political evolution, Turkey has gradually become a general inspiration for political and economic liberalization in other Middle Eastern societies. But a review of democratization in Turkey also illustrates the significant problems the country has yet to solve for the consolidation of genuine liberal democracy. Rather than a completed model for other countries to emulate, Turkey is an illustrative case of ongoing democratization from which other Muslim-majority nations can draw lessons. This paper focuses on democratic deepening and associated hurdles in Turkey during the past decade and searches for insights that may be useful to contemporary democratization efforts elsewhere in the Middle East.

Justice and Development Party (AKP) governments since 2002 have brought about a major reorientation of politics in Turkey and accelarated democratic deepening. Established by former Islamists, the AKP defines itself as "conservative democrat," accepts secularism in governance, and acts like a counterpart of European Christian Democratic parties. It pursues European integration along with the protection of traditional cultural values.

In fact, the pre-AKP and AKP eras in Turkey refer to two different patterns of political development. The pre-2002 model was "modernization from above under military guardianship," whereas the post-2002 trend is "democratization from below through deconstruction of military guardianship." The former model is already out of synch with the contemporary Zeitgeist; whether it is a prerequisite for the latter is not known.

The simultaneous existence of two features in Turkish political experience makes it unique in the Islamic world: Turkey is partly a European country negotiating European Union (EU) membership, and it has never lost its independence. The Ottoman state initiated Westernizing reforms on its own volition to defend its independence from European imperialism. Today, Turkey's ongoing political and economic development is based on the contemporary European model of liberal democracy, rule of law and market-based capitalism.