The study of party politics in Turkey

Official URL: https://dx.doi.org/10.4324/9781315461892

Introduction Political parties in Turkey emerged in the first decade of the 20th century to become part of the mainstream of the country’s political life. Over the past century, parties have come and gone, sometimes resurrected under different names and leaders, at other times swept into the dustpan of history. However, save for short periods when all party politics was formally banned by the authorities, as in the aftermath of the 1980 military coup, parties have remained on Turkey’s political stage. The party system, too, has proved resilient, weathering several regime breakdowns due military interventions after its emergence in the immediate aftermath of World War II. Although these military interventions had a significant impact on party politics (e.g. interrupting the natural evolution of party competition by banning some or all parties and their elites from politics, changing electoral laws and introducing new constitutional and legal provisions concerning party activities), the party system has nevertheless managed to remain as one of Turkey’s major political institutions for more than 60 years.