Introduction

This introduction presents overall key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book provides a background to the existing conditions in the Turkish political sphere where secular and Islamic ideas are contested relentlessly. It analyses the findings about each discourse by examining the meaning of each statement for each discourse. The book presents the findings of the Q study in Turkey. It provides a background for a Q study conducted in Turkey prior to the 2002 general elections to analyse the discourses of the Turkish public sphere. The book returns to the principal theoretical theme of the book. It first evaluates social learning one more time in the light of Seyla Benhabib's The Claims of Culture. The more diverse the social context, the more difficult it is to develop a sustainable framework for deliberative democracy. A dialogical account of deliberation is essential to appreciate the concept of social learning.