EPIN Commentaries offer concise, policy-oriented insights into topical issues raised by the debate on the political integration of Europe. The European Policy Institutes Network (EPIN) is a network of think tanks and policy institutes based throughout Europe, which focuses on current EU political and policy debates (see http://www.epin.org). Unless otherwise indicated, the views expressed are attributable only to the author in a personal capacity and not to any institution with which he is associated. Umut Uzer is Associate Professor at the Istanbul Technical University. Available for free downloading from the CEPS (http://www.ceps.eu ) and EPIN (http://www.epin.org ) websites © Copyright 2015, EPIN What direction for Turkey? A plea for political reconciliation Umut Uzer hirteen years of Justice and Development Party (AKP) rule in Turkey had provided a degree of stability and economic growth for the country from 2002-15 – a stability not seen since the 1980s under the premiership of Turgut Özal. But it has also had a damaging effect on civil liberties and the rule of law, especially since their second electoral victory in 2007. On 10 th October 2015, 97 people were killed in a peace rally in capital Ankara, perpetrated by two suicide bombers. In what was dubbed the “Turkish September 11” by Italy’s Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni, numerous activists from the Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the People’s Democracy Party (HDP), as well as trade union members, lost their lives. This attack on demonstrators demanding peace was the biggest terrorist attack in Turkish history. So far no organisation has claimed responsibility for the attack, but for the government the main suspect is the so-called Islamic State (IS). It is clearly difficult to determine the culprits in attacks like this. If the perpetrators were indeed IS, this would demonstrate that the country’s borders have become more porous as civil wars are raging in Syria and Iraq. Any escalation in violence, by the PKK, IS or other organisations just before the elections is troubling. The radicalisation of Muslims and Kurds should be tackled through of education programmes and political negotiations with all the actors in Turkey. Inconclusive elections The election results of June 7 th this year meant that the AKP was unable to form a government on its own for the first time since it came to power in 2002. After three consecutive victories at the polls and with increasing shares of the vote after each election, the 2015 elections proved something of a shock for the ruling party. The critical outcome of the election was the passing of the 10% threshold by the HDP and its entry into parliament for the first time without cooperating with other parties or running as independents, as they did in the past. While this party has traditionally been the mouthpiece of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), in this election they used a more peaceful and liberal discourse, nominating Kurdish and non-Kurdish candidates who represent different groups in Turkish society, usually the underdogs, which appealed to urban secular Turks aiming to oust the government after ten years. This was a particularly interesting development as many individuals who had voted for the Kemalist Republican People’s Party and who tended to be middle or upper middle class, including journalists, academics and even bureaucrats, voted for the HDP in June 2015. By way of illustration, a group of academics posted their decision to vote for the HDP on the internet in an attempt to prevent the AKP from changing the country from a parliamentary into a presidential T Commentary No. 26/ 14 October 2015