ktisadi Büyümenin Demokratikle me üzerine Etkileri(The Effects of Economic Growth on Democratization)

The Effects of Economic Growth on DemocratizationFundamental of the Study: Democratization had occured in a long historical process and had developed itself by having different evolutions. It had been claimed that democratization is based on some social conditions until 1959. However, in 1959, Lipset had suggested that democracy is based not only on social conditions but also the condition of realization of economic growth. In this context, democratization is a fact fulfilled with economic growth. Goal of the Study: The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of economic growth on democratization in Turkey. Method: In the empirical section of this study, some models are constructed and tested by considering different time horizons. In these models, in addition to income level, some variables are used which represent democratic tradition. Also, the periods in which democratic process was deducted in Turkey are taken into account.Findings and Results: According to the findings, it is concluded that the economic growth affected Turkish democratization in 1923 – 2003 period, on the other hand, when the time horizon is shortened, the mentioned relationship is not continuous. Recommendations: Continuous of economic growth is necessary so that democratization can be sustained in Turkey. Therefore, economic growth and development process of Turkey must be revised and policies supporting economic growth must be arranged again. Also, indefiniteness in the economic expectations directed towards the future must be reduced, because increase in inflation rate affects democratization in a negative way. Finally, it must be provided that tradition of democratization is become widespread in society. Therefore, activities directed towards being constituted of democratization conscious must be arranged in every level of education.