Intra-party Conflicts and Democratic Backsliding: Lessons from Turkey

• In Event: The Politics of the People, Parties, and Leaders of Turkey

Brief Overview

Starting off as a ‘conservative democratic’ party with liberal tendencies, the AKP pivoted to hegemonic Islamism over the years it ruled Turkey. How can we make sense of this drastic shift? This paper proposes an intra-party account.

Author

• Sebnem Gumuscu, Middlebury College