Abstract
This chapter brings to the surface an angle previous research on Turkish political parties has neglected: socioeconomic transformation. The analysis highlights how the adopted economic models shape the changes in socioeconomic structures and how parties have responded by developing a new set of policies that fit the demands of their constituencies. The chapter demonstrates that the economic decisions of 1980 have led to an emergence of intermediary stratum, which in return created demand for a political party such as the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, JDP) in 2002. It also adds institutional factors to the discussion and demonstrates how the JDP reshuffled itself as a mainstream party rather than an Islamist one.
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Notes
- 1.
The state aimed to boost the private sector and carry out the economic expansion the private sector could not (Ahmad 1993, p. 97).
- 2.
- 3.
Turkey instituted a law (Teşvik-i Sanayi Kanunu) to subsidise industry in 1932 and many SEEs were established during the 1932–1939 period (Pamuk 2009, p. 173).
- 4.
Due to its prioritisation, agriculture became the main sector that contributed to the economy in Turkey. Consequently, Turkey had become a wheat exporter by the end of the 1930s (Pamuk 2009, p. 177).
- 5.
Protectionist policies such as the restriction of imports contributed drastically to powerful fiscal performance in the 1930s (Pamuk 2009, pp. 177–178).
- 6.
The elections of 1946 and 1950 had open ballot and secret vote counting.
- 7.
The Marshall Funds facilitated the import of farming machinery, a consequence of Turkey’s cultivation of ties with Western allies, especially the United States, through the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) (Ahmad 1977, p. 135).
- 8.
Including the displaced agricultural workers.
- 9.
The number of educated people increased after the establishment of the Republic: A class of urban professionals (lawyers, medical doctors) emerged in the 1970s.
- 10.
“In August 1958, the DP government announced devaluation and accepted an IMF Stabilisation Program with anti-inflationary measures. The decision was followed by price stability but provoked little export response, leaving the economy in recession. And the annual government budget legislated some months later embodied an expansionist philosophy, risking a return to inflation” (Yagci 2017, p. 84).
- 11.
To be more specific, in 1950 when agriculture was the key sector in Turkey’s economy, it comprised 41.7 per cent of Gross National Product (GNP). In 1960, it was 37.9 per cent; in 1970, it was 37.3 per cent; in 1980, it was 26.1 per cent.
- 12.
For a more detailed analysis on the trade unions and Turkey’s working class, please consult Margulies and Yildizoglu (1984).
- 13.
Forced migration refers to the experience of “anyone who is internally displaced or who is forced to leave his/her place of settlement, a new life is an ‘obligation’” (Kurban et al. 2007, p. 6). The term “forced migration” also emphasises Turkey’s perpetuation of internal displacement as a tool of national security. This obligatory displacement was made by use of force where migrants had no choice in the matter.
- 14.
Even though it was not a political party supported by the military, the HP managed to participate in elections of 1983 after the military vetoed some names from the candidate list. It was criticised for not making a strong opposition party, and in the 1984 local elections, it only won 7.78 per cent of the votes.
- 15.
Intermediary stratum: I used this term for defining the hybrid middle classes in Turkey that do not fall neither under the capitalist class nor the proletariat: (1) artisans, (2) petty bourgeoisie, (3) commercial and supervisory intermediate class groups acting on behalf of capitalists, and (4) the new middle class (Hodges 1961).
- 16.
Denizli, Konya, Edirne, Gaziantep, and Çorum.
- 17.
Corruption also contributed to the decline of the ANAP: arbitrary distribution of rents, favouring clientelistic networks in distribution of public tenders, and patronage in the takeover of auctions (Yenal 2010). The use of informal politics had highly increased during the rule of Özal governments in the 1980s. While the use of informal politics was not new in Turkish politics throughout the Republican era, such as neopatrimonialism, clientelism, and corruption, Özen (2013) argues that during the so-called Özal decade, new forms of informal politics emerged such as circumvention of the parliament, violation of the rule of law, and involvement of Özal’s family members in politics.
- 18.
Marginal sectors involve small-scale jobs that are organised neither vertically nor horizontally. They are mostly practised only by one person. They are temporary and not efficient (Şenyapılı 1981, pp. 15–24).
- 19.
The RP did not provide services during the election period, per se.
- 20.
Scholars generally agree that a public row between President Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit led to the 2000–2001 financial crisis. However, Turkey had already experienced a severe economic crisis in November 2000 following an acute liquidity crisis that threatened viability of disinflation and the fiscal adjustment programme in line with the IMF’s stabilisation programme. On 6 December the IMF stepped in and announced a $10 billion financial package to boost the foreign reserves of the Central Bank of Turkey. Hence, in December 2000, a balance of payments crisis was prevented. However, the 2000 liquidity crisis paved the way to higher interest rates, lower growth rate, and lower primary fiscal surplus in 2001 (Alper 2001).
- 21.
The DEHAP was a Kurdish national political party, but it was closed down in March 2003 and followed up by the Demokratik Toplum Partisi (Democratic Society Party, DTP).
- 22.
The number 1 denotes regions with higher support (more than 35 per cent support for the JDP) (dummy = 1) which are Siirt, Konya, Erzurum, Kayseri, Kahramanmaraş, Düzce, Yozgat, Malatya, Çankırı, Kırıkkale, Kütahya, Çorum, Aksaray, Giresun, Karabük, Sivas, Samsun, Rize, Tokat, Trabzon, Sakarya, Nevşehir, Bolu, Kocaeli, Afyon, Gümüşhane, Niğde, Elazığ, Isparta, Ordu, Adıyaman, Bursa, Erzincan, Gaziantep, Amasya, Karaman, Ankara, İstanbul, and Kilis. The number 0 (thus, dummy = 0) denotes regions with lower support (less than 35 per cent support for the JDP) which are Yalova, Balıkesir, Kırklareli, Sinop, Bingöl, Osmaniye, Kırşehir, Kastamonu, Zonguldak, Manisa, Hatay, Eskişehir, Bartın, Bayburt, Burdur, and Uşak. The export volumes are calculated for each of the provinces as the per cent of total exports (real prices) over regional GDP in order to identify the degree of foreign trade dependency for each of the 81 regions. Therefore, the value of total exports from that region is divided over regional (real) GDP. The results in Fig. 3.8 are based on the author’s own calculations.
- 23.
Social Status Groups in the Survey A&G Araştırma (2002), the D–E represents the lowest part of the society.
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Bermek, S. (2019). Game Changer: Socioeconomic Transformation and Emergence of the JDP in 2002. In: The Rise of Hybrid Political Islam in Turkey. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-14203-2_3
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