Contemporary Turkish Politics 

Workshop with Dr. Berk Esen

BASEL, 10–11 December 2021

This two-day workshop examined the dynamics of continuity and rupture in contemporary Turkish politics with the goal of discussing, evaluating, and theorizing main political actors, events, and trends since the country’s transition to parliamentary rule in 1983. Although Turkey underwent a dual process of economic and political liberalization in the 1980s, democratic consolidation remains an elusive goal after decades. Faced with Islamic and Kurdish groups challenging the regime, the military continued to wield strong influence over the governments and the bureaucracy in the 1990s and 2000s. The ensuing Kulturkampf between secularists and conservatives, along with their competing political narratives, structured the political system in this period. However, the military's influence in the political arena was soon eclipsed by a resurgent Islamist movement led by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. After a long line of unstable governments, the moderate Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) gained dominance in national politics by mobilizing the conservative base.

Situated in a volatile regional environment, Turkey’s international course also shifted dramatically from the late Cold War era to the post-Arab Spring world. Opening accession talks with the European Union and expanding diplomatic activities in the former Ottoman territories, the AKP governments turned foreign policy into an instrument to influence domestic politics. For many students of Turkish politics, the AKP’s political dominance is a sign of growing piety within society. And yet, Turkish society has in the last decade become more urban, educated, and diverse than at any other point in its history. In sharp contrast with the government’s conservative agenda, secular trends are reportedly on the rise among the country’s youth. Drawing on a diverse set of scholarship from political science, history, sociology and international relations, this workshop seeks to weave together these separate areas to understand how political and societal trends have evolved in contemporary Turkey. The sessions will be broken up into four themes (see below) to help scrutinize the main political dynamics, actors, and issues that left their mark on Turkish politics over the last four decades.

Workshop Topics:
1 | Turkey’s Struggle for Democratic Consolidation
2 | Marketing Turkey Abroad: Turkish Foreign Policy in Uncertain Times
3 | The Kurdish Struggle for Political Recognition
4 | Old Wine in New Bottles: Political Islam’s Struggle for Political Hegemony