The justice and development party's conception of "conservative democracy": Invention or reinterpretation?
Author
Çaǧliyan-Içener, Z.
Date
2009Source Title
Turkish Studies
Print ISSN
1468-3849
Electronic ISSN
1743-9663
Publisher
Routledge
Volume
10
Issue
4
Pages
595 - 612
Language
English
Type
ArticleItem Usage Stats
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Abstract
This article investigates the notion of "conservative democracy" in the discourse of the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi, AKP) in relation to the concepts of change and continuity. It argues that "conservative democracy," which is presented as a "genuine contribution" of the AKP to Turkish politics, is actually a continuation of a tradition within Turkish conservative literature rather than a product of the moment. Hence, contrary to the party's claim, "conservative democracy" is not an invented but a reinterpreted concept. It is reformulated pragmatically to illustrate a rupture from the Islamist background of the party leaders. ©