Turkey’s growing civil unrest shows that citizens are prepared to defend democracy, with or without help from the EU

Turkish police used tear gas to disperse protesters in Istanbul and Ankara on 31 May, following demonstrations held on the first anniversary of the anti-government Gezi Park protests which began last year. Firat Cengiz writes on the country’s increasingly tense political situation, which was also exacerbated by unrest over the recent mine disaster at Soma. She argues that while the EU appears reluctant to marginalise the ruling AKP government in light of the Ukraine crisis, the absence of EU conditionality may have inadvertently aided the emergence of a vibrant opposition.