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Merriam-Webster dictionary defines western as, “located in or towards the west or of or relating to the countries of North America and Western Europe,” (Western). To be western is more than just living in a certain area; it’s a way of life. I believe that there are few characteristics that extend over most western governments; liberal democracy, the rule of law, human rights and gender equality. Another characteristic of most western countries is have a majority population of Christians (Global Christianity).
The United States is a prime example of a country exemplifying western ideas and will be my reference in understanding where Turkey stands in relation to a western civilization. The first characteristic of a western country is liberal democracy.
It has been a part of our government since day one our governing officials are elected in a free and fair election between more than one distinct political party. This aspect is definitely not an issue for Turkey, since they obviously have a more than one political party, as exemplified in Snow by Orhan Pamuk.
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Turkey appears to meet some of the requirements to be a liberal democracy and would start to be considered western. Another aspect of a liberal democracy is ruling under a constitution the United States and Turkey both have a constitution that they govern under. At this point in my research, it’d be hard to argue that Turkey is not a western country based on their governments. The next aspect is governing under the rule of law which means that there are clear, specific, and stable laws that dictate how members of society live and how a government works.
The United States has numerous constitutional laws on the national and state level although Turkey also has laws, they are not as clear cut as the United States.
Turkey appears to be moving closer to rule of law based on previous years of governments. Human Rights is the third aspect of a western country. Although the United States does violate the Human Right Law of the value of life because of our use of execution, many states are certainly working towards abolishing the death penalty. In May of this year, Nebraska voted to abolish the death penalty, and once it gets the proper signatures, etc., they will no longer execute inmates. Although I could not find an exact number of violations for each of these, it was apparent that Turkey has had more human right violations in the past few years than the United States (Turkey). The fourth characteristic of a western country is gender equality gender equality has been a major of United States history, and more laws are put in place to ensure that females are treated the same, especially in the workplace, as time goes on Turkey, on the other hand, is not doing too hot in the gender equality game.
According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2008, Turkey was ranked 128 out of 130 countries throughout the world (Turkey Ranks). Having a high population of Christianity is another aspect of being western. The United States has a Christian population of eighty-six percent Turkey is ninety-eight percent Muslim, so Christianity must be less than two percent. Members of a western society dress and act differently than the rest of the world. As you mentioned in class, “Western women; they’re all sluts." You also mentioned that people from western societies are easy to spot in places, such as Turkey. In The Bastard of Istanbul, the western woman wore high heels on the streets of Turkey, even though, she knew that heels were highly impractical on the old roads. Being western is a way of thinking I believe that it is prioritizing the way you look higher than how you act fine apparel and makeup guide western societies. In conclusion, there are many characteristics of being wester, such as liberal democracy, governing under the rule of law, human rights, gender equality, and high percentages of christianity. Being western is a way of thinking you can take a person out of the west, but you can’t take the west out of a person.
Human Rights Law on the Value of Life. (2023, Jan 19). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/human-rights-law-on-the-value-of-life-essay
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