A Sociological Representation of the Justice and Development Party: Is it a Political Design or a Political Becoming?

OpenAlex İngilizce

The Justice and Development Party (AKP) has become an effective and highly dynamic force in Turkish politics. The short time span between its sudden birth and its rise to power, as well as its remarkable achievements in economic and social reforms as part of the process towards European integration, has drawn a lot of attention to the party. It is important to investigate the circumstances in which the party was born, the interests it represents, and the political space it is likely to fill. In order to do that, the AKP will be first analyzed by an approach based on the argument that political parties, identities, and discourses do not develop independently from political, societal, and historical realities through which new threats, opportunities, interests, and knowledge are formed. Second, it will be argued that political parties have their own momentum and dynamism in terms of their historical continuity and the socialization of their leaders and adherents. Turkey, despite the continuity of its historical memory, is undergoing a radical social transformation. By interpreting the AKP in the context of these transformations, a representative picture of its dynamic and contextual (deterministic) existence can be drawn out. The article concludes that the AKP is neither a political design of its leaders and conditions, nor is it a political becoming understood and shaped by public perceptions and expectations; it is both.