ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book focuses on the role of the legal system and the judiciary in the management of diversity in Turkey. It also demonstrates how state policies have been articulated into legislation and embodied in court jurisprudence. Although Turkey also exists in a changing international legal environment, with the latter's developing principles of minority protection, Turkey's own position with respect to the minority issue appears to have remained static and quite defensive. For instance, the Turkish legal system has persistently refrained from granting rights specifically designed for protecting minorities differences other than invoking the legal assurance of formal equality and the proclaiming the benefits of uniform laws. The protection of minorities in international law is mainly contemplated as an individual right enjoyed by the members of minorities, but not as a group.
