Comparative Politics, Politics of Turkey - Report Example

Analysis Writing Comparative Politics, Politics of Turkey Comparative politics concentrates on comparing between nations whereas politics of Turkey highlight the political framework of the country and the basis of the regulation present over there. The basic aim of our study is to find the details of comparative politics and politics of Turkey and establish a relation among the two. Comparative Politics can be described as a branch of political study that focuses concentrates on analyzing the political system of a country by comparing and contrasting with other political systems practiced during the same time. It particularly concentrates on exploring the patterns, and processes among different political systems. This branch of political science involves in a systematic comparison that seeks to find out the differences as and the similarities among the political processes followed in different countries (“What is Comparative Politics”). Again the Political framework of Turkey is that of a secular republic, following a system of multi party democracy. In Turkey, the Parliament is the main seat of power, and countries are led by a largely ceremonial head - the President. The Turkish Presidential election takes place after a span of five years by the process of universal suffrage (Political Structure, 2011). The Turkish President has a substantial reserve of power (“Government &Politics”). The real head of the government is the Prime Minister, who is the leader of the Turkish Parliament called the Meclis (“government & politics”). The Turkish President appoints thePrime Minister, who wins a vote of confidence of the parliament. The Turkish Prime Minister chooses his cabinet of ministers – not necessarily from the parliament – and together forms the Executive Branch of the Turkish Political System (“Government &Politics”). The political system prevailing in Turkey is based on a separation of powers. Executive powers of the state are operated by the Council of Ministers, or the cabinet. Grand National Assembly of Turkey is given the power to control the legislation of the state. The judiciary works independent of the legislature and the executive (“Government &Politics”). The Executive, Legislative and the Judiciary are separated. The constitution guarantees the independence and freedom of Judicial System. The principal body responsible for ensuring judicial integrity is the High Council of Judges and Public Prosecutors (HSYK). In the study of comparative politics, there has been a recent upswing in the interest of analysis and understanding of the political model of Turkey. Turkey is unique in its ability as a constitutional democracy with a predominantly Muslim population. The social and religious challenges faced and the solutions adopted to address the same in the context of Turkey has been accepted by scholars of Political Science as hallmark examples of how modernity and democracy can be achieved in an Islamic social setting. It has been generally accepted that the critical factors that contributed to this unique distinctive feature of modern Turkey is the model of the political institution it adopted, whereby the political process and the institutions are delinked from influences of religion. The other critical factor is the vehicle of public education, which helped in creating and spreading awareness across the population as a whole regarding the virtues of a secular political system. Thus an alternative modernity has been achieved in Turkey in the backdrop of a volatile socio-political landscape of Middle East, and serves as a model to further the overall goal of a secure, just and peaceful world. So we can conclude by say that the Comparative politics is to compare the politics of different nations where politics Turkey just forms a part of this study. Politics of Tolerance, Islamic Republic of Iran Politics of tolerance mentions the principle that is being followed in democracy while Islamic Republic of Iran is a theocratic political system with Shia’ite Islam as the official religion and ideology. The basic aim of this study is to define the details of the two concepts –Politics of Tolerance and Islamic Republic of Iran and state their relation. Politics of tolerance is the key principle which is followed in democracy. This principle means that the political system is respectful and accepts the basic as well as the civil rights of all the citizens, whose thinking processes are different from one another. As a result, the people of the country have the right to choose a political party to power irrespective of their political philosophies and the religious orientation. (“International day of democracy 2009 democracy and political tolerance”) It is a contrast to the above idea the Islamic Republic of Iran is a theocratic political system with Shia’ite Islam as the official religion and ideology. Islamic Republic of Iran came into existence in the year 1979 following the national referendum and Iranian Revolution, which established Ayatollah Khomenei as the supreme political and religious head. After the 1979 Revolution of the Islamics, Iranian constitution banned most of the political parties. Post the 2009 Presidential Election , the streets of Iranian cities like Tehran, Ispahan, etc, were filled with protestors denouncing the results that showed that the incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – the conservative candidate backed by the Supreme Islamic Council – as the victor. Eventually the Republican Guards – the elite military wing responsible as the guardian of the Islamic Revolution – brutally crushing the protests organized by the students and the liberals (“Iran-U.S. hostage crisis (1979-1981)”). The judicial system of Iran is not based on the principles of Equity, the basic premise of all judicial systems of a modern democratic state. Rather, the Iranian Judicial System is based on the strict interpretation of Sharia, the laws that is supposed to govern the lives of a Muslim, and which is derived from Islamic theological sources like Al-Koran, Hadith and Fatwa. Hence the non-Muslims are essentially not welcome in the political system of Iran. (“Religions”). Also, Iran practices militant Islamism, unlike states following politics of tolerance brought it on a collision path with other nations in the past. Iran was engaged in a bitter eight year war with Iraq, and faces sanctions from the United States post the 444 days hostage crisis at the US Embassy in Tehran in 1979. It has also been accused by the international community to extend financial and political supports to various militant and terrorist outfits, including Hezbollah and Hamas, groups which believes in propagating their religious philosophies and political influence through acts of force with little or no regards for the life and opinions of others. In fact, along with North Korea, the state of Iran has been considered by the US Administration following the principles of tolerance as a state that actively sponsors and harbors terrorism across the world. Due to the extreme orientation rejecting politics of tolerance the political leadership it hampered the progress of the Islamic Nation post the revolution of 1979 which .( “Iran’s Economic Morass: Mismanagement and Decline under the Islamic Republic”) Off late, Iran is suspected to surreptitiously trying to build or acquire the atom bomb. The nuclear watchdog IAEA and various western countries along with Israel accuse Iran of trying to accumulate a nuclear arsenal with tacit help of other declared nuclear powers like China and Pakistan. This has caused a tremendous anxiousness in the international community, as the last thing that is required for a peaceful world order is a Nuclear Iran given the belligerent nature of the current leadership of the country. As a result, Iran faces the prospect of economic, military and political sanction formulated at the floors of the United Nation, guided by the principles democratic rights (“Iran-U.S. hostage crisis (1979-1981)”). Hence a clear picture is drawn in the above analysis regarding these concepts thus establishing their relationship as a whole. References “Govornment& politics”, turizm, n.d., 8th December, 2011 from: http://www.turizm.net/turkey/info/government.html “International day of democracy 2009 democracy and political tolerance”, ipu, 2009, retrieved on 8th December, 2011 from: http://www.ipu.org/dem-e/idd/tolerance.htm “Iran-U.S. hostage crisis (1979-1981)”, historyguy, March 2011, 8th December, 2011 from: http://www.historyguy.com/iran-us_hostage_crisis.html “Iran’s Economic Morass: Mismanagement and Decline under the Islamic Republic”, Washington Institute, 2011, 8th December, 2011 from: http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/templateC04.php?CID=23 “Timeline: 2009 Iran presidential elections”, CNN, June 2009, 8th December, 2011 from: http://articles.cnn.com/2009-06-16/world/iran.elections.timeline_1_mehdi-karrubi-presidential-elections-mohammad-ali-abtahi?_s=PM:WORLD “Religions”, BBC News, September 2009, 8th December, 2011 from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/islam/beliefs/sharia_1.shtml “What is comparative politics”, home.millsaps, n.d., 8th December, 2011from:http://home.millsaps.edu/omobai/LEC-A130.HTM Read More