majority. In March 2002, elections held prema-
turely, gave the Social Democratic Party a narrow
victory and to the leader of the opposition, José
Manuel Durâo Barroso, as prime minister, now
fell the difficult legacy of reform, until 2004 when
he was chosen to succeed Romano Prodi as pres-
ident of the European Commission.
Turkey applied for full membership of the Com-
munity in 1987. Two years later, the Community
replied that it was deferring consideration of
further applications until after 1993, though it
offered the sop that Turkey was eligible. Greece, as
a member of the Community, remained deeply
suspicious of Turkey, though their relations
improved after a low point in 1987. Nevertheless,
the Cyprus question continued to stand in the way
of a normal cordial relationship. Turkey’s human-
rights record was also suspect and its economy
tended to fluctuate wildly between growth and
stagnation. The Kurds represent a serious minority
problem and the Asia Minor region of the country
is not only poverty-stricken but practically under
military rule. The economy, too, is backward.
Kemal Ataturk had set up State Economic Enter-
prises in the 1920s and 1930s to modernise
Turkish industry, but by the early 1990s they had
become outdated and unproductive. With its
rapidly increasing population of 57 million in
1990, Turkey’s gross national product per head,
estimated at $1,870, was that of a Third World
country, far less than Greece’s and even that of
Portugal, the poorest country in the Community.
Nor was parliamentary democracy absolutely
secure. The army was faithful to the Ataturk tradi-
tion and kept a watchful eye on the civilian politi-
cians, periodically making itself responsible for
holding the country together.
In May 1960 the army seized power and the
former prime minister Adnan Menderes was exe-
cuted a year later. When a resumption of civilian
politics in the 1960s and 1970s was again accom-
panied by growing disorder and economic
hardship, another army takeover followed in
September 1980. In November 1983 there was
then a return to semi-civilian parliamentary gov-
ernment, accompanied by much political repres-
sion of liberals and socialists; martial law remained
in force under the conservative prime minister
Turgut Özal. He instituted some vigorous eco-
nomic reforms and privatisations, and gradually
returned Turkey to a more normal political state,
but the parties contesting for power remained
unstable.
Özal sought to lessen tension with Turkey’s
neighbours, especially Greece. His main aim was
to gain full membership of the European Com-
munity, to continue the military and economic
aid that the US had steadily sent to a valuable ally
during the Cold War. Turkey was also an import-
ant player in the Middle East. In November
1989, Özal enhanced his stature by becoming
president, but the economy rapidly deteriorated
again. Turks fled from Bulgaria in 1989. In April
1993 Özal died. The biggest internal problem
that faced his successors was the armed struggle
of revolutionary Kurds.
The elections of 1995 and 1999 did not cure
the roundabout of ineffectual coalition govern-
ments of old-guard politicians. The most notable
event of 1999 was the capture of Abdullah
Ocalan, leader of the guerrilla Kurdistan Workers
Party (PKK) which had waged a ruthless struggle
for independence resulting in at least 30,000
deaths. His fight was nourished by the suppres-
sion of Kurdish rights to their own language and
education and the brutality of the army. The
human-rights abuses inflicted on even the mod-
erate 12 million Kurds remained one of the bars
to Turkey’s wish to join the European Union.
The generals in the National Security Council
guard the secular state and have required politi-
cians to follow their guidance. Democratic devel-
opment is opposed by a coalition of interests –
army, police, security services and bureaucracy
blocking reform. The economy suffered from
high unemployment and the precipitous loss of
the value of the currency with inflation annually
of over 50 per cent. Corruption and mismanage-
ment were endemic. But Turkey has been a
staunch NATO ally in the Cold War and after and
was assisted with loans from the US. Relations
with Greece remained tense, the Turkish occupa-
tion of northern Cyprus since 1974, a major
obstacle. Turkey’s 67 million people seemed to
be caught in a political and social pattern resist-
ing fundamental change. The door of the