Esen Kirdiş
Biographic Data
| ID | 1166083 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Esen Kirdiş |
| GIVEN NAMES | Esen |
| FAMILY NAME | Kirdiş |
| SIGNATURE | KIRDIŞ E |
| AFFILIATIONS | Rhodes College |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-1127-1784 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 16 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 70 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 16 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2009 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Between religiosity and secularism: The rise of the ‘non-religious’ in the Middle East and North Africa
Islamist Outbidding in Turkey: The Strategic Rationale of Dominant Party Radicalization
Since consolidating institutional dominance in 2011, the Justice and Development Party (AKP), Turkey's ruling party for the past twenty plus years and the world's longest-governing Islamic party, has engaged in Islamist outbidding wherein it has employed religious rhetoric and policies more radical than the societal average. This has included citing Quranic principles in economic policymaking, aligning with fringe Islamist groups, and reshaping e…
Education, Media and Civil Society: The Building of an Islamic Cultural Hegemony in Turkey
The Turkish economy is in freefall with rising inflation, unemployment, poverty and income inequality. Yet, the incumbent Justice and Development Party (JDP) continues to get the support of roughly one-third of the voters according to the latest surveys. Although this is a long way from the peak of the party when it was getting half the overall votes a decade ago, it is nevertheless a significant proportion of the voter base. What explains such a…
Revisiting Religious Economy Models: The Decline of Religious Engagement among Turkish Youth
Uncertainty and the Religious Market: The Unexpected Rise of Salafism in Egypt and Tunisia after the Arab Spring
One of the most puzzling developments in the aftermath of the Tunisian Revolution and Tunisia’s transition to democracy was not the electoral success of the Ennahda Party but the rise of Salafis protesting issues ranging from art exhibits to a secular constitution, and at times doing so violently. Meanwhile in Egypt, the electoral success of Salafi parties in the first post-Arab Spring elections as the second biggest bloc after the Muslim Brother…
Islamic Populism in Turkey
In the last two decades, multiple Islamic parties have become incumbent parties and/or joined coalition governments. Such a development brought debate as to whether these parties could moderate into democratic actors à la Christian Democratic Parties in Western Europe, or whether they were aiming at the formation of an Islamist state and society through electoral means. What remains relatively unaddressed in the literature, however, is to what de…
Similar Contexts, Different Behaviour: Explaining the Non-Linear Moderation and Immoderation of Islamic Political Parties in Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, and Turkey
Why do some Islamic political parties (IPPs) pursue a ‘moderate’ political agenda and focus on economic development and democratic reform, while others pursue an ‘immoderate’ political agenda demanding the de-secularization of the state? To answer this question, this paper will utilize a comparative method of difference and analyze different behaviour, moderation versus immoderation, in similar political contexts, in the authoritarian constitutio…
From outsiders to kingmakers: A comparative study of political Salafism in Egypt and political Haredism in Israel
How and why have fundamentalists, who aim to defend religion and tradition from modernity by advocating a new return to the fundamentals of religious belief and behaviour, become politically successful when one would expect them to remain marginal in their mass appeal given their belief in one true faith, exclusive organisations, limited ideological appeal and strict codes of conduct for their followers? To study this puzzle, this article utilise…
Wolves in sheep clothing or victims of times? Discussing the immoderation of incumbent Islamic parties in Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia
This article discusses the "immoderation" of incumbent Islamic parties – defined by the pursuit of a moral agenda and by an unwillingness to compromise with the opposition – through a comparative study of four incumbent Islamic parties in the socio-politically different regimes of Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia. Building on literature from religion and politics, social psychology, sociology of religion, and on the inclusion-moderation hypoth…
From Loyal to Hard Opposition: The Political Transformation of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood
After almost three decades of electoral contestation, the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood (JMB) has moved away from being a ‘loyal opposition’ advocating the Islamization of Jordanian politics and avoiding any open confrontations with the regime, to a ‘hard opposition’ advocating political reforms and from demanding the formation of a functioning constitutional monarchy. This paper will discuss why and how on such a political transformation has take…
Same context, different political paths: Two Islamic movements in Turkey
Two Islamic actors in Turkey have transformed the state’s strict control of the religious field (laicism). While the National Outlook Movement, the “mother-movement” of the governing Justice and Development Party, did so through its “participation” in party politics, the Gülen Movement, Turkey’s most powerful Islamic movement that operates hundreds of schools and a major media network, contributed to this transformation through its “non-participa…
The rise of populism? Comparing incumbent pro-Islamic parties in Turkey and Morocco
How do pro-Islamic parties evolve during their incumbencies as opposed to their years in the opposition? Adapting a most different systems approach, this study will discuss this question by looking at the similar political evolution of two incumbent pro-Islamic parties, the AKP and the PJD, in two different political contexts, that of secular democratic Turkey and of authoritarian Morocco where the King claims Islamic legitimacy. Borrowing from t…
Immoderation: Comparing the Christian Right in the US and pro-Islamic movement-parties in Turkey
This article will discuss the "immoderation" of religious political actors – defined as the continuation of a relatively closed and rigid worldview – through a cross-religious comparison of the Christian Right coalition within the Republican Party in the US with the pro-Islamic movement-parties in Turkey. By adapting a "most different systems approach", this study will question the similar evolution of two religious political actors in two dissim…
Between Movement and Party: Islamic Movements in Morocco and the Decision to Enter Party Politics
To understand the reasons and the consequences of variation in Islamic movement behavior, this article asks: Why do some Islamic movements choose to form Islamic political parties, while others do not? Adapting a ‘method of difference’, it questions ‘variation’ in Islamic movement behavior ‘within’ the context of Morocco by focusing on two Islamic movements, one of which has shifted to party politics, while the other one has deliberately avoided …
The Role of Foreign Policy in Constructing the Party Identity of the Turkish Justice and Development Party (AKP)
Since the start of its tenure, the Justice and Development Party's (AKP) departure from traditional Turkish foreign policy identity has elicited praise and criticism. This article addresses this development by discussing how the AKP has impacted traditional Turkish foreign policy identity, and how, in return, Turkish foreign policy identity has impacted the party identity of the AKP in domestic politics. In particular, this study examines the dom…
In Pursuit of “Contemporary Civilization: Judicial Empowerment in Turkey
Turkey’s powerful Constitutional Court serves as an administrative attaché of state elites in overseeing the political arena and transforming the society. Looking at the courts as administrative agents suggests that the ruling elite might turn to courts not in an attempt to safeguard their immediate interests, but to transform the society by extending the reach of the state. The authors contend that in countries where the state pursues a civilizi…
In Pursuit of “Contemporary Civilization: Judicial Empowerment in Turkey
Turkey’s powerful Constitutional Court serves as an administrative attaché of state elites in overseeing the political arena and transforming the society. Looking at the courts as administrative agents suggests that the ruling elite might turn to courts not in an attempt to safeguard their immediate interests, but to transform the society by extending the reach of the state. The authors contend that in countries where the state pursues a civilizi…
The rise of populism? Comparing incumbent pro-Islamic parties in Turkey and Morocco
How do pro-Islamic parties evolve during their incumbencies as opposed to their years in the opposition? Adapting a most different systems approach, this study will discuss this question by looking at the similar political evolution of two incumbent pro-Islamic parties, the AKP and the PJD, in two different political contexts, that of secular democratic Turkey and of authoritarian Morocco where the King claims Islamic legitimacy. Borrowing from t…
The Role of Foreign Policy in Constructing the Party Identity of the Turkish Justice and Development Party (AKP)
Since the start of its tenure, the Justice and Development Party's (AKP) departure from traditional Turkish foreign policy identity has elicited praise and criticism. This article addresses this development by discussing how the AKP has impacted traditional Turkish foreign policy identity, and how, in return, Turkish foreign policy identity has impacted the party identity of the AKP in domestic politics. In particular, this study examines the dom…
Wolves in sheep clothing or victims of times? Discussing the immoderation of incumbent Islamic parties in Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia
This article discusses the "immoderation" of incumbent Islamic parties – defined by the pursuit of a moral agenda and by an unwillingness to compromise with the opposition – through a comparative study of four incumbent Islamic parties in the socio-politically different regimes of Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia. Building on literature from religion and politics, social psychology, sociology of religion, and on the inclusion-moderation hypoth…
Immoderation: Comparing the Christian Right in the US and pro-Islamic movement-parties in Turkey
This article will discuss the "immoderation" of religious political actors – defined as the continuation of a relatively closed and rigid worldview – through a cross-religious comparison of the Christian Right coalition within the Republican Party in the US with the pro-Islamic movement-parties in Turkey. By adapting a "most different systems approach", this study will question the similar evolution of two religious political actors in two dissim…
Islamic Populism in Turkey
In the last two decades, multiple Islamic parties have become incumbent parties and/or joined coalition governments. Such a development brought debate as to whether these parties could moderate into democratic actors à la Christian Democratic Parties in Western Europe, or whether they were aiming at the formation of an Islamist state and society through electoral means. What remains relatively unaddressed in the literature, however, is to what de…
Revisiting Religious Economy Models: The Decline of Religious Engagement among Turkish Youth
Between Movement and Party: Islamic Movements in Morocco and the Decision to Enter Party Politics
To understand the reasons and the consequences of variation in Islamic movement behavior, this article asks: Why do some Islamic movements choose to form Islamic political parties, while others do not? Adapting a ‘method of difference’, it questions ‘variation’ in Islamic movement behavior ‘within’ the context of Morocco by focusing on two Islamic movements, one of which has shifted to party politics, while the other one has deliberately avoided …
Same context, different political paths: Two Islamic movements in Turkey
Two Islamic actors in Turkey have transformed the state’s strict control of the religious field (laicism). While the National Outlook Movement, the “mother-movement” of the governing Justice and Development Party, did so through its “participation” in party politics, the Gülen Movement, Turkey’s most powerful Islamic movement that operates hundreds of schools and a major media network, contributed to this transformation through its “non-participa…
In Pursuit of “Contemporary Civilization: Judicial Empowerment in Turkey
Turkey’s powerful Constitutional Court serves as an administrative attaché of state elites in overseeing the political arena and transforming the society. Looking at the courts as administrative agents suggests that the ruling elite might turn to courts not in an attempt to safeguard their immediate interests, but to transform the society by extending the reach of the state. The authors contend that in countries where the state pursues a civilizi…
Between Movement and Party: Islamic Movements in Morocco and the Decision to Enter Party Politics
To understand the reasons and the consequences of variation in Islamic movement behavior, this article asks: Why do some Islamic movements choose to form Islamic political parties, while others do not? Adapting a ‘method of difference’, it questions ‘variation’ in Islamic movement behavior ‘within’ the context of Morocco by focusing on two Islamic movements, one of which has shifted to party politics, while the other one has deliberately avoided …
The Role of Foreign Policy in Constructing the Party Identity of the Turkish Justice and Development Party (AKP)
Since the start of its tenure, the Justice and Development Party's (AKP) departure from traditional Turkish foreign policy identity has elicited praise and criticism. This article addresses this development by discussing how the AKP has impacted traditional Turkish foreign policy identity, and how, in return, Turkish foreign policy identity has impacted the party identity of the AKP in domestic politics. In particular, this study examines the dom…
From Loyal to Hard Opposition: The Political Transformation of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood
After almost three decades of electoral contestation, the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood (JMB) has moved away from being a ‘loyal opposition’ advocating the Islamization of Jordanian politics and avoiding any open confrontations with the regime, to a ‘hard opposition’ advocating political reforms and from demanding the formation of a functioning constitutional monarchy. This paper will discuss why and how on such a political transformation has take…
Same context, different political paths: Two Islamic movements in Turkey
Two Islamic actors in Turkey have transformed the state’s strict control of the religious field (laicism). While the National Outlook Movement, the “mother-movement” of the governing Justice and Development Party, did so through its “participation” in party politics, the Gülen Movement, Turkey’s most powerful Islamic movement that operates hundreds of schools and a major media network, contributed to this transformation through its “non-participa…
The rise of populism? Comparing incumbent pro-Islamic parties in Turkey and Morocco
How do pro-Islamic parties evolve during their incumbencies as opposed to their years in the opposition? Adapting a most different systems approach, this study will discuss this question by looking at the similar political evolution of two incumbent pro-Islamic parties, the AKP and the PJD, in two different political contexts, that of secular democratic Turkey and of authoritarian Morocco where the King claims Islamic legitimacy. Borrowing from t…
Immoderation: Comparing the Christian Right in the US and pro-Islamic movement-parties in Turkey
This article will discuss the "immoderation" of religious political actors – defined as the continuation of a relatively closed and rigid worldview – through a cross-religious comparison of the Christian Right coalition within the Republican Party in the US with the pro-Islamic movement-parties in Turkey. By adapting a "most different systems approach", this study will question the similar evolution of two religious political actors in two dissim…
Wolves in sheep clothing or victims of times? Discussing the immoderation of incumbent Islamic parties in Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia
This article discusses the "immoderation" of incumbent Islamic parties – defined by the pursuit of a moral agenda and by an unwillingness to compromise with the opposition – through a comparative study of four incumbent Islamic parties in the socio-politically different regimes of Turkey, Egypt, Morocco, and Tunisia. Building on literature from religion and politics, social psychology, sociology of religion, and on the inclusion-moderation hypoth…
Similar Contexts, Different Behaviour: Explaining the Non-Linear Moderation and Immoderation of Islamic Political Parties in Jordan, Morocco, Tunisia, and Turkey
Why do some Islamic political parties (IPPs) pursue a ‘moderate’ political agenda and focus on economic development and democratic reform, while others pursue an ‘immoderate’ political agenda demanding the de-secularization of the state? To answer this question, this paper will utilize a comparative method of difference and analyze different behaviour, moderation versus immoderation, in similar political contexts, in the authoritarian constitutio…
From outsiders to kingmakers: A comparative study of political Salafism in Egypt and political Haredism in Israel
How and why have fundamentalists, who aim to defend religion and tradition from modernity by advocating a new return to the fundamentals of religious belief and behaviour, become politically successful when one would expect them to remain marginal in their mass appeal given their belief in one true faith, exclusive organisations, limited ideological appeal and strict codes of conduct for their followers? To study this puzzle, this article utilise…
Uncertainty and the Religious Market: The Unexpected Rise of Salafism in Egypt and Tunisia after the Arab Spring
One of the most puzzling developments in the aftermath of the Tunisian Revolution and Tunisia’s transition to democracy was not the electoral success of the Ennahda Party but the rise of Salafis protesting issues ranging from art exhibits to a secular constitution, and at times doing so violently. Meanwhile in Egypt, the electoral success of Salafi parties in the first post-Arab Spring elections as the second biggest bloc after the Muslim Brother…
Islamic Populism in Turkey
In the last two decades, multiple Islamic parties have become incumbent parties and/or joined coalition governments. Such a development brought debate as to whether these parties could moderate into democratic actors à la Christian Democratic Parties in Western Europe, or whether they were aiming at the formation of an Islamist state and society through electoral means. What remains relatively unaddressed in the literature, however, is to what de…
Revisiting Religious Economy Models: The Decline of Religious Engagement among Turkish Youth
Education, Media and Civil Society: The Building of an Islamic Cultural Hegemony in Turkey
The Turkish economy is in freefall with rising inflation, unemployment, poverty and income inequality. Yet, the incumbent Justice and Development Party (JDP) continues to get the support of roughly one-third of the voters according to the latest surveys. Although this is a long way from the peak of the party when it was getting half the overall votes a decade ago, it is nevertheless a significant proportion of the voter base. What explains such a…
Between religiosity and secularism: The rise of the ‘non-religious’ in the Middle East and North Africa
Islamist Outbidding in Turkey: The Strategic Rationale of Dominant Party Radicalization
Since consolidating institutional dominance in 2011, the Justice and Development Party (AKP), Turkey's ruling party for the past twenty plus years and the world's longest-governing Islamic party, has engaged in Islamist outbidding wherein it has employed religious rhetoric and policies more radical than the societal average. This has included citing Quranic principles in economic policymaking, aligning with fringe Islamist groups, and reshaping e…
Law (14 works) · Political science (14 works) · Politics (13 works) · Sociology (13 works) · Political economy (12 works) · Law (11 works) · Islam (10 works) · Turkey's Politics and Society (8 works) · Democracy (7 works) · Political Conflict and Governance (7 works)