Turkey's AKP: A Model "Muslim-Democratic" Party?

Abstract

Turkey's democracy reached a turning point with the meteoric rise of the pro-Islamic Justice and Development Party (AKP) in the 2002 election. Surprising many, the AKP has launched an aggressive reform process to meet the European Union's Copenhagen criteria. The AKP-led "quiet revolution" raises serious questions as to how the reforms will shape the future of Turkish democracy and what role Islam will play in it. Three areas in which the party's policies appear paradoxical are examined: its commitment to decentralization while curbing intra-party democracy, democratic reforms without civil society input, and party institutionalization without having formulated an enduring ideology.

Energy privatisations, business-politics connections and governance under political Islam

“…However, the future of political Islam remains handicapped by authoritarian instincts and moral conundrums. This is bad news for those who hoped to see economic modernisation through moderate and west-friendly Islamic politics in Turkey as a role model for others (Tepe, 2005;Tepe and Demirkaya, 2011;Tuğal, 2009Tuğal, , 2012.…”

Turkey's Kurdish Opening: Long Awaited Achievements and Failed Expectations

“…It was of the opinion that the idea of cultural unity should be relaxed and the position of the individual vis-à-vis the state should be strengthened. 8 In order to achieve this goal, the AKP wanted to "change the structure of the state towards more pluralism, human rights, and fuller democracy." 9 The democratization agenda that the AKP pursued was enhanced with the requirements of Turkey's EU accession process and the AKP's need to establish itself as a legitimate political party in the eyes of the secular circles in the country.…”

Media and Democracy in Turkey: Toward a Model of Neoliberal Media Autocracy

“…4 There is a huge literature on the rise of the AKP to power and what this means for Turkish political history. For a selection, see Tepe 2005;Cinar 2006;Özbudun 2006;Önis 2006;Cizre 2008. 5 For more on these two consecutive crises, see Önis and Rubin 2004. The first AKP period (2002)(2003)(2004)(2005)(2006)(2007) saw the implementation of a solid economic program, the passing of reform packages in parliament to enter the EU, extensive privatization of state-owned economic enterprises and a proposed solution to the Cyprus problem.6 During this period the AKP government's policies were that of compliance with the media. The AKP government desperately tried to prove its conservative yet secular stance toward the military, the judiciary and intelligentsia in the mainstream media.…”