| Sumario: | The writer contends that Turkey's Islamist-leaning Justice and Development Party, or AKP, government seems to give the country considerable scope for broadening the horizon of its long-running aspiration toward democratization and the reconciliation of Islam and democracy. He outlines a deliberative model of democracy that, partly freed from the constraints of decision-making processes, is centered on a less formal and more inclusive practice of social learning to reconcile the problems of the deeply split Turkish society. Furthermore, he presents a brief overview of the perceived contradiction between democracy and Islam and assesses why Turkey's specific conditions yield a viable alternative that could successfully synthesize the relationship between Islam and democracy.
|