A Comparative Analysis of Democracy, Respect For Human

Rights, and Democratic Policing Reforms in Turkey and

Fourteen Nations
Salih Hakan Can1, Izzet Lofca2, Bradley Chilton3
1
Pennsylvania State University, Schuylkill Campus, USA
2
Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University, Turkey
3
Appalachian State University, North Carolina, USA

Abstract

This study is a cross-national exploration of the relation between democratic policing reforms
and assessments of democracy and respect for human rights in Turkey and fourteen nations. It is
based on the rich qualitative case studies of police organizational structures in these 15 countries,
unique data made available in Turkey, comparative analyses of different types of regimes,
reports of governmental and non-governmental international organizations, and other secondary
data analyses. The research seeks an understanding of two research questions: (1) To what
degree are democratic policing reforms associated with the level of democracy and respect for
human rights in a given country? (2) Which specific democratic policing reforms are most likely
to be associated with higher levels of democracy and respect for human rights? With Turkey and
each of 14 other countries, we find a significant role in the rise of democratic policing reforms
and assessments of the level of democracy and respect for human rights.