The "silenced opposition" in Turkey is barely different from a terrorist organization. And most of that opposition is somehow soldiers. High Officers with great clout in the army and we're talking about an army with a habit of coup d'etats every 10 year.
> How do you prevent descent from democracy to a repressive society, when the people vote against the rule of law?
There is no such descent I think, it is just that the new ruling classes of the country is more religiously conservative than their predecessors. The old ruling classes were actually more conservative but in racism, totalitarianism and militarism.
> Atatürk tried very hard to pull Turkey out of the Middle Ages.
This is a very common misconception. Modernization of the Empire/Turkey had begun long before Ataturk was even born. He is an important figure in Turkish history for sure but you can't attribute the progress of a whole nation to him.
