Atatürk's authoritarianism

Atatürk's Turkey was nominally democratic but in practice authoritarian. The Republican People's Party (CHP) was the only legal party for most of Atatürk's lifetime. Opposition was suppressed. Kurdish nationalists were treated harshly. The reforms were imposed from above with little tolerance for dissent. Many Turks, especially in rural areas, resented or quietly evaded the changes. But Atatürk's reforms stuck because the state enforced them consistently for decades.