Rethinking the DLP : analysis of the 1999 election campaign

Abstract

This thesis examines the stance of the DLP and the factors that led the DLP to the top of the Turkish political scene in the 18 April 1999 elections. While the DLP’s stance is explained with a new kind of ideological position that can be termed ‘center-left nationalism’, the rise of the DLP in the elections is mostly explained by the conjuncture of the pre-election period. The study also examines the history and structure of the DLP, and the corruption in Turkish politics.