Posted on 07/27/2007 2:49:29 AM PDT by Allan
How did the AK Party come this far?
Some of the comments published in the foreign press about the Turkish general elections demonstrate that Turkey is not fully understood. Some people still think that there was a fight between secularists and the Islamists, and the latter had won. The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) increased its votes and this can be described as a sweeping victory. But the AK Party has never been an Islamist party (as understood by Western minds) in its basis and structure, and it had three basic axes: Muslim-conservatives, liberal globalizationists and nationalists. This tripartite structure was similar to Turkey’s established general tendencies. But with the AK Party those who represented these tendencies were different in terms of their origins and their interlocutors. The AK Party was created not by the traditional military-bureaucratic, Western-educated elite, but by middle-class Anatolians from within “real” life. During the 2002 elections the electorate supported those who looked like the simple people. Since the beginning of the republican regime, those who have established the state mechanism have always felt that they are the state’s owners. This has created some sort of dichotomy between the “proprietors” and the “visitors.” The AK Party has succeeded in representing the majority of the population in this class contradiction, repressing the old elite’s rhetoric and emphasizing the ordinary citizens’ sovereignty over political life.
These circumstances allowed the AK Party to obtain power in 2002. This party experienced two phases during its rule. During the early years it conducted the reforms necessitated by the EU process and linked those to the democratization and liberalization promises made before the elections. During this period of approximately two years, the AK Party was supported by the intellectuals, non-conservative or non-nationalist circles, liberals, EU-supporters, businessmen and democrats. Thus the AK Party has become almost like Europe’s social democrat or Christian democrat parties and as a result, it became the captain of the transformation process in Turkey. This transformation requires economic and political structural changes. This kind of deep change puts an end to old structures and relations, establishing new ones. That’s why old cadres, mentalities, human profiles, budgetary and economic portfolios have been modified. However, those who didn’t want to lose their orientation capacity, their authority over the state and their income in favor of the “newcomers,” promptly organized a resistance. During the second part of its rule, the AK Party tried to fight this resistance (not necessarily generated by the political parties), but meanwhile couldn’t manage the reform and transformation processes well.
The AK Party made several mistakes that created political crises, but its responsibility is relatively small. Civilian and military bureaucracy, including the legislative branch, acted as if the AK Party government was the political authority of another country. This has transformed the political and economic rivalry into a struggle between different institutions. Moreover, the headscarves and the national flag were presented as alternatives to one another. Some people thought that those who like the army should oppose the headscarf and those who wear headscarves should oppose the state. Some have hoped to watch a wrestling match between “AK Party-loving non-patriots” and “AK Party-hating patriots.”
After these elections, marked by a high level of participation, the AK Party obtained 16.2 million votes. This is the answer of society to those who expected a confrontation. Turkish people have showed that they are asking for more democracy and that they will not tolerate the bureaucratic wars; not that they have become more religious.
ping
If it smells like a skunk, it is a skunk...
Then, it’s the same “conservative” coalition or party you find in any country: religious voters, global free-traders (what everyone in the world except those in the U.S. mean by “liberals”) and the pro-big business folks.
“However, those who didn’t want to lose their orientation capacity, their authority over the state and their income in favor of the “newcomers,” promptly organized a resistance.”
The danger is not in the AK party itself, but how the ruling elite attempt to keep power. In every revolutionary change, how the ruling party handles the reforms the people obviously want becomes the crux - if they stay ahead of the curve, Turkey will stay secular.
After these elections, marked by a high level of participation, the AK Party obtained 16.2 million votes. This is the answer of society to those who expected a confrontation. Turkish people have showed that they are asking for more democracy and that they will not tolerate the bureaucratic wars; not that they have become more religious.
Thank you!
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