What is a Legitimacy Crisis? Is there a Legitimacy Crisis in Turkey?
Based on the definitions, in order to ensure legitimacy, it is necessary to expect that the following characteristics are fulfilled: conformity with the laws in force; conformity with the principles underlying the law; conformity with sound reasoning; and, in connection with these, sound justifiability.
One of the most debated concepts in political science is known as "legitimacy". Although it is defined as "the state of being valid" (1) in the TDK Dictionary, the depth of the concept is revealed when the conditions of this validity are taken into account. Because the state of validity expressed by the word legitimacy is a validity that goes beyond legal validity. Throughout history, the right of the people to resist and revolt against the ruler takes its basis of discussion from legitimacy. Accordingly, the view that "a ruler who oppresses and misrules loses his legitimacy and the people have the right to resist the ruler" has been the main argument of philosophers and thinkers defending this right. The English equivalent of the word, which comes from Latin, is defined in the Oxford Dictionary as "conformity to law, rules, or some recognised principle; conformity to law. It isalso given as "conformity to sound judgement; reasonableness; justifiability".
Based on the definitions, in order to ensure legitimacy, it is necessary to expect that the following characteristics are fulfilled: conformity with the laws in force; conformity with the principles underlying the law; conformity with sound reasoning; and, in connection with these, sound justifiability. In this context, the legislative power's making laws in accordance with the process is a necessary but insufficient activity to ensure legitimacy. The mere compliance of the executive and the judiciary with the law is likewise not sufficient for legitimacy. The judiciary does not decide only according to the written law. Therefore, judges must decide with their conscience.
The problem becomes more complex when we enter into the theoretical discussion in terms of law. For legislative activity, it is not sufficient that every law be enacted with justification. What should we think of when we say some recognised principles? It is possible to increase the questions. After all, the way for a ruler to ensure his/her legitimacy in a country is to do what is right in the name of reason, conscience, logic, law and social good. The opposite attitude removes legitimacy. Being elected to office in accordance with the law cannot create an unlimited area of authority for anyone.
Democracy is not the choice of a person, a group or a particular community, but of society. Democracy is not just elections, it is a system of values. All totalitarian regimes in the world today hold elections. However, these regimes do not hesitate to display a governance far from values and believe that they have the necessary approval from the people. Totalitarian regimes, where state power is transformed into an apparatus of oppression, see no problem in complying with the laws they have enacted. The separation of powers is either non-existent or for show. Those who hold executive power also hold legislative power or have the power to direct the legislature. Generally, the judiciary tends to act politically rather than legally. This is because everything is indexed to the existence of politics and the law is voluntarily compromised to protect this status.
There is a close relationship between the democratic tradition and ensuring legitimacy. In developed democracies, the government, which feels that the trust of the public has diminished in any election, has two paths in front of it; either it turns to more rational policies and tries to gain the support of the public, or it goes to elections at an appropriate time without waiting for the end of its term of office and supports the establishment of a new government that has the support of the public behind it. If the government reiterates its willingness to continue until the end of its term of office despite everything and does not adopt rational and questionable policies in return, this leads to a crisis of legitimacy (in the sense of the word).
Since the source of legitimacy in totalitarian regimes is based on coercion, it is not possible to question it. However, in democracies, the source of legitimacy is the support of the people. This support is not a legitimacy that can be achieved by saying "we are authorised by the nation". One of the general requirements of the rule of law is that the executive acts in accordance with the law. The people do not give an unconditional and unlimited field of action to the government that they authorise through elections. The limits are set by the constitution and laws, which are the embodiment of popular sovereignty. A government that does not comply with the constitution naturally creates a crisis of legitimacy. If this crisis is ignored, the regime becomes totalitarian and there is no point in discussing legitimacy.
Let's come to the local government elections on 31 March 2024. In this election, for the first time, the ruling party, which has ruled the country for 22 years, lost its first position. In my post-election evaluation, I stated that I thought early elections were inevitable. It was a very consistent and correct attitude for the CHP, which came out as the 1st party, not to enter the early election debate immediately after the election. However, as I mentioned above, the government did not see any harm in continuing to display an attitude that was far from recognising this credit given to it. It preferred the third way rather than one of the two ways it should have behaved. Unfortunately, this path leads to a crisis of legitimacy.
Turkey is at a critical threshold. A government that has lost public support and is aware that it has lost it, instead of turning towards rational policies, is trying to squeeze the local administrations it has lost with a pressure and injustice that can be seen in totalitarian regimes. The government disobeys the decisions of the Constitutional Court, distances its legislative power from the principles of logic and justifiability, and does not refrain from using disrespectful language against an opposition that received more popular support than it did in the last election. He arbitrarily cuts the legitimate rights of pensioners and makes discourses fuelling class conflict among the population. In the midst of an economic crisis, a government that refuses to accept serious austerity measures in the public sector is now clearly moving away from rationality. Worse still, it does not listen to warnings.
All signs indicate that Turkey is entering a crisis of legitimacy. If this crisis is not recognised, the end result will be a totalitarian regime "now with a name". The opposition must realise that the necessary conditions have been created for it to initiate a legitimacy debate against a government that fails to appreciate its democratically mature support. Although the slogan "if there is no livelihood, there will be elections" is effective in this regard, it is not enough to explain the magnitude of the danger. Where legitimacy becomes questionable, democratic elections should be the solution. Otherwise, democratic elections on paper are about to turn into the elections of totalitarian regimes, which are organised as a "good old fashioned way". When the election to be held is an election in which all the powers of the state are used for and by the government, the results will be meaningless. If anyone thinks that this has happened before, they should know that everything is not over yet. It is impossible not to realise the difference in a totalitarian election.
The worst possible situation in a crisis of legitimacy is when the people's means of expressing their reaction against the government are closed. Unless the transformation of civil society into an organised force succeeds, Turkey is in danger of falling into the quagmire of a totalitarian regime from which it will not emerge for many years. It should be recognised that intellectuals and academics with intellectual background have as much responsibility as the opposition in warning the society about this issue. After a short period of time, the environment in which these speeches can be made is likely to change completely. Considered together with the environmental risks, Turkey's legitimacy crisis is much more vital than the economic crisis. Pretending that a problem does not exist does not make it go away.
Sincerely yours...
(2) https://www.oed.com/search/dictionary/?scope=Entries&q=legitimacy
