by fits and starts since the 1950s, and especially since the early 1980s. As a result, taboos are falling one by one:
Not so long ago, favorable references to the history and culture of the Ottoman Empire were frowned upon in "politically correct" circles. Today, Turks speak with pride of their Ottoman heritage even while retaining a certain critical distance. They likewise readily refer to their ethnic origins without in any way diminishing their "Turkishness," in much the way an American might speak of being "Irish" or "Italian" (Rouleau 110).
There have been changes in the economic sphere as well, and in government there has been a lessening of the bureaucratic and centralized structure favored by Kemalists. In part, this was due to a recognition of changed circumstances in the world and to a belief in different market policies. Turkey has moved from a statist, centrally guided economic system to a market economy in less than 15 years under the leadership of Turgut Ozal, designated in a recent poll as the best prime minister the country has ever known:
With a rare combination of firmness and flexibility, this former World Bank expert was able to loosen the grip of Kemalist dogmas, entrenched habits and bureaucratic mentalities in order to bring Turkey into the modern world. Under his impetus, the Turkish economy experienced a remarkable expansion. Since 1981, and except for 1991 (the year of the Gulf War), its annual growth rate has oscillated between six and eight percent, the highest rate for any member of the OECD, including Japan (Rouleau 115).
The Kemalist reforms will not disappear entirely, and there is also a backlash against the recent shifts in some spheres from the doctrines favored by Kemal and his followers. There is a tension between Kemalists on the one hand and fundamentalists on the other over the potential for some sort of return to a religious-based control of the government and the socie...