These are days when secret societies and diaries of coup-plotting generals are being uncovered. In complete continuity with these lands’ Byzantine past, Ankara is humming with political gossip teetering between paranoia and outright manipulation.

For almost a year now the domestic political struggle for the presidency and the following general election has continued. Many argue that the primary divide among the Turkish elite is between the Islamists and the secularists. At least that is the kind of framework most opponents of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) would like to see. But is this really so? Or is the current divide much more complicated?

What is really at stake in Turkey and what is the true nature of the divide? Is it not that the real divide in Turkey is between those who want a more open, transparent and normal democracy and those who value the state over the elected and the bureaucracy over the citizen? Is it not that the current clash is as much about the liquidation of a generation of elites that cares more about the well-being of the state than that of the citizen? Is it not about the rise of a new elite that is claiming equal right to influence the future of this country as much as our polished, cosmopolitan and wealthy white elite does?

Is the presidential election so charged because there is the possibility that Turkey’s first lady may wear a headscarf? Or is it about the anxiety of losing critical ground in the state bureaucracy’s struggle to preserve key posts to steer the country in its traditionally state-dominated direction?

Turkey is indeed going through historic times. We are witnessing the final cracking of the Turkish state structure’s dominance over our lives and the first signs of a normal democracy. However it is occurring at an immense cost, and the extremes that some in this country appear to be willing to contemplate are frightening. The primary complication, and perhaps irony, is the defining element of Turkey’s opening and democratization drive, the AK Party. The inability of the neutral elements of the Turkish elite to side with the democratizing element constitutes a significant obstacle against tipping the balance in favor of those who want Turkey to normalize. The establishment’s success in framing the question along the supposedly Islamist versus secularists line has also had an impact on the debate. That said, we see encouraging signs of public deliberation, particularly in the media, and it offers hope that we will be able to overcome key problems such as the Kurdish issue, the accommodation of religious and secular values in a democracy and, of course, civil-military relations.

Luckily this is essentially an elitist debate. Most of our citizens are cognizant of the stakes and exhibit much more common sense than the elite does. I believe that they will equally reflect their wisdom at the polls when they will get the chance to vote in the coming months.

Turkey’s political elite carries a great responsibility on its shoulders as its positions and preferences this year will be critical in defining the future and quality of our democracy. Either it will come out of its box and actively take part in the further opening up of this country and contribute to Turkey becoming a normal democracy or it will be doomed to be caged in a semi-democratic state that perpetually wastes its energy by trying to secure the state’s dominance.

Being a Turkish intellectual was never easy. Some of us paid a very high price for being honest intellectuals. These are times when we need to be on the right side of history.