AVETIK HARUTYUNYAN
ones discussed below , and depending on the nature of the specific foreign policy issue ( military , economic , cultural and so on ) other state entities responsible for state policy in that particular area can also be included in the decision-making process .
The GNAT and Foreign Policy
According to the Constitution of Turkey of 1924 , the legislative and executive branches of power were represented in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( GNAT ), which realized its executive power through the President and Council of Ministers . 6 Hence , by this constitution , the Council of Ministers was obliged to submit its Program to the GNAT and receive a vote of confidence from it ( this clause remained unchanged in both the constitutions of 1961 and 1982 ). 7 Besides that , the constitution of 1924 , as well as the later constitutions of 1961 and 1982 , granted the Parliament the authority to supervise the activities of the Council of Ministers and if necessary to unseat it . 8 In the field of foreign policy , the GNAT was given the mandate of signing international treaties and declaring war . 9
In practical terms , from 1924-1946 , a single-party system existed in Turkey with only the Republican People ’ s Party ( RPP ) represented in the GNAT . Two successive Chairs of the RPP were Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and Ismet Inonu , the first two Presidents of the Republic , who were the ultimate foreign policy decision-makers in Turkey from 1924- 1950 . 10 Although the government in this period paid attention to bringing important issues before Parliament , 11 the role of the GNAT in foreign policy decision-making was mostly consultative . For instance , as described by E . Weisband , during the presidency of I . Inonu foreign policy issues were discussed not before the whole Parliament , but in the relevant Parliamentary Group of the RPP , where in some cases political debates
6 Teşkilâti Esasiye Kanunu 1924 , Kanun Numarası : 491 , Kabul Tarihi : 20 / 4 / 1340 ( 1924 ), articles 5 and 7 , https :// www . anayasa . gov . tr / tr / mevzuat / onceki-anayasalar / 1924-anayasasi /. 7 Teşkilâti Esasiye Kanunu 1924 , article 44 ; Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Anayasası 1961 , article
103 ; Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Anayasası 1982 , article 110 . 8 Teşkilâti Esasiye Kanunu 1924 , article 7 ; Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Anayasası 1961 , articles
88-90 ; Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Anayasası 1982 , articles 98-100 . The constitutions of 1961 and 1982 also specified that the GNAT can also unseat any of the ministers .
9
Ibid , article 26 .
10
See : Ilhan Uzgel , “ TDP ’ nin Oluşturulması ,” in Türk Dış Politikası Kurtuluş Savaşından Bugüne Olgular , Belgeler , Yorumlar , Cilt 1 : 1919-1980 , ed . Baskın Oran ( Istanbul : Iletişim Yayınları , 2001 ), 74-75 . 11 Çınar Bahçacı , “ Parlamentove Dış Politika ” ( Yüksek Lisans Tezi , Ankara Üniversitesi ,
2006 ), 13 . 33