"Turkey's politics
May 12th 2005
From Economist.com
The November 2002 election of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) as Turkey's first single-party government in 15 years changed the political landscape. Under Recep Tayyip Erdogan�who belatedly became prime minister in March 2003�the conservative AKP has undertaken ambitious reforms with the long-term aim of Turkey joining the European Union. These have weakened the country's meddlesome generals and reversed decades of corruption, economic mess and authoritarian abuse of power. Turkey's 14m Kurds, who secured an interim constitution in March 2004, have been among the main beneficiaries. Turkish-Cypriot support for a UN-backed reunification plan for the island also aided Turkey's European aspirations, and in December 2004 the EU agreed to open membership talks."
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