Revisiting the Concept of Moderation in the Age of Populism

The akp case of Turkey

Bibliographic Data

ID6160771
AuthorsPelin Ayan Musil (0000-0002-6222-0848, Anglo-American University, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume15
Issue4
Pages435-461
Publication date2021-08-24
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueMiddle East Law and Governance (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1876-3367 • E-ISSN: 1876-3375
PublisherBrill (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1163/18763375-13031260
OpenAlexW3194679687
LanguageEN
Citations received3

This article presents the case of Turkey within the framework of this special issue entitled “On Islamist Parties and the Inclusion-Moderation Hypothesis”. I argue that rather than a distinction between the concepts of “tactical” and “ideological” moderation that the literature talks about, a distinction between the concepts of an “inclusionary-populist” and “moderate Islamist” party could provide a more useful insight over the role of Islamist and post-Islamist parties in democratization and de-democratization processes. Through a re-analysis of the secondary literature and a content analysis of 196 newspaper columns written by three pro-democracy intellectuals, I label the akp ’s transition period from moderate-Islamism toward authoritarianism as its inclusionary populist phase. I show that in contexts marked by deep ideological divisions and unconsolidated democratic institutions, a shift in party identity from moderate-Islamism toward inclusionary populism can be taken as the early signal of an unfolding process of autocratization

Authoritarianism · Democracy · Democratization · Ideology · Moderation · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Populism · Sociology · Law · Populism, Right-Wing Movements · Psychology · Social Psychology · Turkey's Politics and Society

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