Editor's note.

• Author: Ataman, Muhittin
• Position: Editorial

Turkey has been experiencing a transformation process since the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. Then President of Turkey, Turgut Ozal, instigated a program of change; however, his successors failed to continue the process. Throughout the 1990s, Turkey was trapped into unstable coalition governments and it was unable to initiate a large-scale reform package. It was when the AK Party came to power in 2002 that Turkey initiated a comprehensive program for the reconstruction of the state.

The AK Party, under the leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has been ruling Turkey for 15 years as the dominant party. The party has won all consecutive general (2002, 2007, 2011, June 2015, November 2015) and local elections (2004, 2009, 2014). Additionally, it won three constitutional referendums (2007, 2010, 2017) and the only presidential election held until now (2014). The governments established by the AK Party undertook extensive and radical political, economic and social reforms, which have contributed to the democratization and economic development of the country.

As a result of many substantial and comprehensive reform packages, the country and Turkish people have been experiencing substantial change in all spheres of political and social life. Turkey has restructured both its foreign and domestic policies. The AK Party governments began to pursue a more diversified and multi-dimensional foreign policy by reinitiating its close relations with neighboring countries and reaching distant and neglected regions of the world. Turkey undertook the negotiation process of the EU full-membership and developed a more realistic relationship with the EU institutions.

In order to get rid of the tutelage exercised by the bureaucracy, such as the military and judiciary, and to strengthen the democratic institutions, significant democratization and civilianization steps were taken in domestic politics. Political openings and processes were initiated to provide a solution of the lingering domestic political and social problems. After the expansion of ethnic, religious and cultural diversity, various sections of the Turkish society such as the Kurds, Alevis, Romani, and non-Muslims began to claim their identities more freely.

The Turkish economy underwent a huge transformation during the AK Party period. After completing many structural reforms, Turkey experienced an enormous increase in total national income, national per capita income...