1st Edition

Islamism, Democracy and Liberalism in Turkey The Case of the AKP

By William Hale, Ergun Ozbudun Copyright 2010
238 Pages
by Routledge

236 Pages
by Routledge

240 Pages
by Routledge

The Justice and Development Party (AKP) were elected to power in 2002 and since then Turkish politics has undergone considerable change. This book is a comprehensive analysis of the AKP, in terms not just of its ideological agenda, but also of its social basis and performance in office in the main theatres of public policy – political reform, and cultural, economic and foreign policies.... Read more

Introduction: Islamism, Democracy and the Turkish Experience  Part 1: The AKP’s History, Ideology, Social Bases and Organization  1. The History of Islamist Parties in Turkey: From the National Order Party to the Justice and Development Party (AKP)  2. The AKP’s Ideology: Conservative Democracy  3. The AKP’s Social Bases: A New Centre-Right Coalition?  4. Party Organization  Part 2: The AKP in Government  5. Democratizing Reforms and Constitutional Issues  6. Cultural Policies: Creeping Islamisation or Politics of Avoidance?  7. The AKP Government and the Military  8. The AKP and the Turkish Economy  9. Foreign Policy and the AKP Conclusions, Assessments and Expectations

Biography

Ergun Ozbudun is Professor of Constitutional Law and Political Science at Bilkent University.

William Hale is the former Professor of Turkish Politics in the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London. He is a specialist on the politics of the Middle East, especially Turkey, and has written a number of papers and books on modern Turkish politics and history.

"The book by William Hale and Özbudun is a significant analysis of the origin, policies, and impacts of the AKP. It rightly portrays the AKP as a party of paradoxes, which constantly tries to keep a balance between generally contradictory processes…" – Ahmet T. Kuru, San Diego State University, Political Science Quarterly (Summer 2010)