The Fletcher Forum is pleased to share a sampling of articles from our latest print edition of the journal, focused on global challenges to the democratic order and the established rule of law. To read more, we invite you to subscribe to The Forum and thank you for your readership and support.
Interviews
Three Decades Later: A Reflection on Transatlantic Democracy Since the Fall of the Berlin Wall - A Conversation with John Shattuck
The Rule of Law in the United States (And What It Means for the World) - A Correspondence with Bill Weld
Articles
Reinvigorating Global Governance Through "Just Security" by Joris Larik, William Durch, and Richard Ponzio
2019, which falls between the centenary of World War One and the seventy-fifth anniversary of the end of World War Two and the birth of the United Nations, is an opportune moment to reflect on the current “anti-multilateralist turn” in international politics and the growing array of global problems that can only be managed multilaterally. This policy essay does so conceptually, substantively, institutionally, and strategically. Conceptually, it explains how lasting solutions to global problems must necessarily address underlying justice and security concerns. Substantively, the essay showcases specific reforms that a “just security” approach engenders in the areas of conflict prevention, the hyper-connected global economy, and climate. Institutionally, it highlights system-wide reforms that can help multilateral institutions deliver better outcomes to their many and varied stakeholders. Lastly, the essay outlines a strategy of harnessing “smart coalitions” and using the UN’s upcoming major anniversary to make real progress toward a reinvigorated system of global governance.
How Turkey's Leaders Dismantled the Rule of Law by Merve Tahiroglu
Turkey’s democracy has suffered a dramatic decline under the seventeen-year rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the country’s longest-serving leader. As both a target and weapon of political power, the judiciary has been central to Erdogan’s efforts to dismantle key democratic institutions and establish an all-powerful presidential system with few checks against executive rule. For over a decade, Turkey’s political elites have systematically undermined the rule of law and strengthened the structural obstacles to judicial independence. To demonstrate the role of the judiciary in enabling Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian rule, this article traces the multi-layered process through which Erdogan and his allies worked to hollow out and co-opt the courts since 2008. Turkey’s highly politicized judiciary functions today as a primary facilitator of Erdogan’s assaults on the media, political opposition, and civil society. By examining two contemporary case studies—one about the prosecution of civil society leaders, and the other about the prosecution of an opposition party—this article seeks to identify some of the main methods through which Turkey’s ruling elites weaponize the judiciary to neutralize their critics and opponents.