It is observed that the fight against violence has cyclically come to the agenda in Türkiye and globally, in conjunction with the increase in violent incidents. Although Article 17 of the Constitution guarantees the right to bodily inviolability, it must be acknowledged that Türkiye‘s record on violations of this right is not as strong as desired. Violence remains a significant and widespread threat across all segments of society, occurring in homes, between genders, in workplaces, against the elderly, children, animals, and various other groups. When examining the magnitude of this problem, it becomes evident that the desired level of progress has not been achieved on a global scale either.
In fact, identifying the importance of non-violence is a long-settled issue for the international community. A global consensus has been reached on the prevention of illegitimate violence—or in other words, the “achievement of non-violence”—as a shared concern of humanity and one of the most fundamental issues for every individual and state. This consensus made it possible for the United Nations to declare October 2 as the World Day of Non-Violence at its General Assembly meeting on June 27, 2007. The United Nations’ choice of Gandhi’s birthday for this day is significant.
Determining the scope of the problem is one of the most important steps toward solving it. Therefore, examining humanity’s record on violence could be a good starting point. According to the Institute for Economics & Peace’s 2024 Global Peace Index[1], the world has become less peaceful than the previous year for the 12th time in the last 16 years. While the index does not exclusively focus on non-violence, considering that 163 countries and 99.7% of the world’s population are included in the study, the data obtained can be accepted as a valid indicator. On the other hand, according to estimates from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the global average homicide rate per 100,000 people was 6.9 in 2010[2], 6.2 in 2012[3], 6.1 in 2017[4], and 5.8 in 2021[5]. As seen, over the ten years following the declaration of the World Day of Non-Violence, the global homicide rate improved by only about 1 per 100,000. Considering that the Human Development Index improved by more than 4% during the same period[6], we can talk about a global failure in the fight against violence. Clearly, the substantial increase in human development has not translated into success in combating violence.
Conversely, Türkiye paints a bleaker picture compared to the global trend. When analyzing TurkStat data on the number of convicts by type of crime from 2011 to 2020, an increase is observed in the total number of convicts and those convicted of violent crimes. During this period, the total number of convicts increased from 80,096 to 258,401. When comparing the number of convicts to Türkiye’s population in the relevant years, the ratio of convicts rose from 0.11% in 2011 to 0.31%. An increase is also observed in the number of those convicted of violent crimes[7], rising from 17,222 in 2011 to 71,885 in 2020. Based on these figures, the proportion of those convicted of violent crimes among the total number of convicts increased from 21.5% in 2011 to 27.8% in 2020, while the ratio of those convicted of violent crimes to the total population increased from 0.02% to 0.09%. Furthermore, when compared to developed countries, Türkiye ranks 9th in Europe for the highest murder rate and ranks first in Europe and the OECD for violence against women. According to the 2023 Armed Violence Map of Türkiye prepared by the Hope Foundation, there is no province in Türkiye without armed violence incidents[8].
Concrete data shows that the desired success in combating violence has not been achieved. But are deterrent measures being taken against violent incidents that have already occurred? Unfortunately, it is not possible to say that Türkiye effectively utilizes its justice system to achieve this goal. In 2023, the average duration of appeals alone was 221 days in civil chambers and 455 days in criminal chambers. The duration of legal proceedings has become so protracted that the Constitutional Court, unable to handle the burden of rights violations caused by lengthy trial periods, was forced to cut off applications for violations of the right to a fair trial due to exceeding reasonable time limits[9]. Moreover, violations of the right to a fair trial in Türkiye are not only due to long trial periods. In 2023, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the right to a fair trial was violated in approximately 22% of the applications against Türkiye [10].
Additionally, Türkiye has the second largest prison population among European countries[11], with the only country surpassing Türkiye in this regard being Russia, which also has the highest number of convictions at the European Court of Human Rights.
As such, it becomes inevitable that public trust in the judiciary diminishes. Studies show that the poor functioning of the justice system reduces trust in justice, leading to fewer legal applications, and this decline, in turn, increases crime rates[12].
It is not possible to view these failures as mere disruptions in public services like electricity or water supply. At this point, it would be useful to consider theories on the existence of the state. In general state theories, it is assumed that humans possess certain “rights” in the state of nature. In the early stages of humanity, it is assumed that humans were in a free state with no obligations to others. Over time, as people required solidarity with others, they sacrificed certain freedoms in exchange for the assurance of security from society and the state, giving rise to social contract theories. The social contract theory, which provides the greatest consensus on one of the fundamental issues of political philosophy, resolves the issue of the legitimacy of state power through the element of democratic consensus. Accordingly, people accept the power of the state, or in other words, its authority to use force, as legitimate in exchange for meeting their basic needs, particularly security.
Weber defines the state as a political structure that holds a monopoly on the use of violence within certain limits, and this violence is considered legitimate. From the reverse of this definition, it follows that any use of force outside the state or by actors not authorized by the state is considered illegitimate. Therefore, the violation of the state’s monopoly on violence constitutes a violation of the social contract, the foundation of the political structure[13]. According to this widely accepted idea, it is essential to prevent citizens from resorting to violence in order to maintain the state’s monopoly on violence (and thus the social contract). Every crime, particularly violent crimes, represents a violation of the contract between the citizen and the state and thus a usurpation of the rights of both parties to the contract. It can thus be said that the continuation of societal life depends on the state maintaining its monopoly on violence and preventing unauthorized individuals from committing acts of violence. In other words, every act of non-violence removes the very justification for citizens relinquishing their freedoms in the state of nature.
It is clear that violence by non-state actors has another critical aspect beyond questions of political philosophy: the right to bodily integrity. This fundamental right transcends the citizen-state axis. Here, the issue extends beyond the preservation of the legitimacy of power and becomes one of protecting first-generation human rights. As such, acts of violence by non-state actors must be recognized as the most fundamental threat to both human rights and the existence of the state. Moreover, in a state that enshrines respect for human rights as an immutable provision in its constitution, any threat to the right to bodily integrity must be taken seriously.
As can be seen, the fight against violence and the achievement of non-violence is much more than a simple failure of the state apparatus or a minor and excusable disruption. Individuals deprived of the security they hoped to gain by surrendering their freedoms resort to ihkak-ı hakk (self-help or spontaneous vindication) when they cannot obtain their rights through the justice system. While this may not be acceptable to others, it is understandable, and a downward spiral ensues. For all these reasons, it is important to recognize that the failure to prevent illegitimate violence weakens the social contract and erodes the state’s monopoly on legitimate violence.
References
[1] https://www.economicsandpeace.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/GPI-2024-web.pdf
[2] https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/statistics/Homicide/ Globa_study_on_homicide_2011_web.pdf
[3] https://www.unodc.org/documents/gsh/pdfs/ 2014_GLOBAL_HOMICIDE_BOOK_web.pdf
[4] https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/gsh/Booklet1.pdf
[5] https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/gsh/2023/ Global_study_on_homicide_2023_web.pdf
[6] https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/human-development-index#/indicies/HDI
[7] In this article, the crimes of violence include murder, injury, sexual offenses, deprivation of liberty, plunder, ill-treatment, damage to property and violation of family protection measures.
[8] https://umut.org.tr/umut-vakfi-turkiye-silahli-siddet-haritasi-2023/
[9] https://kararlarbilgibankasi.anayasa.gov.tr/ BB/2021/58970
[10] https://www.echr.coe.int/statistical-reports
[11] https://www.prisonstudies.org/highest-to-lowest/prison-population-total?field_region_taxonomy_tid=14
[12] https://www.tepav.org.tr/tr/blog/s/ 5499/2007___den%2B2014___e%2BTurkiye___de%2 Byargiya%2Bolan%2Bguven%2Bnasil%2Beridi_
[13] Although it has been argued that the September 11 attacks in particular may extend this legitimacy beyond borders, I am still in favor of relying on the established rules of international law.
