This article provides a comprehensive analysis of the 2017 constitutional reform in Turkey, examining it as a pivotal institutional shift that formalized the transition to the “Fourth Republic”. The author argues that the reform went beyond a mere change in the form of government, bringing about a systemic transformation of the Turkish state. The study explores this process in two key dimensions. Firstly, it traces the dismantling of the previous Kemalist “protected democracy” system through political and legal mechanisms, including the “Ergenekon” and “Sledgehammer” trials, which neutralized the military as a political arbiter. Secondly, it provides a detailed analysis of the new governance system: the abolition of the office of the Prime Minister, the granting of presidential decree powers with the force of law, and the reform of the Council of Judges and Prosecutors, which led to a concentration of power and a weakening of checks and balances. Special attention is paid to the ideological dimension – the transformation of the principle of secularism, the enhanced role of the Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), and the use of law to promote Neo-Ottomanism as a new constitutional identity.
hyper-presidentialism, political and legal system, Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), Islamism, Turkish constitutional reform, neo-Ottomanism, protected democracy, secular state (laicism), Fourth Republic