Social change and Welfare Party in post-1980 Turkiye

1980 and onwards is a significant turning point in Turkey's sociological, political, socio-cultural, and socio-economic development and change. Undoubtedly, in the historical and sociological reality of Turkey, such an important process will have important social and political actors, new identities, and political parties. One of the most important actors and political parties during this period is the Refah Party. The party has been a milestone in Turkey's unique sociological, historical, and political reality from the early 1980s to the late 1990s. This study examines the sociological, political, socio-cultural, and socio-economic factors underlying the success of the Refah Party, particularly in local and general elections in the 1990s, based on election results. This study is an election sociology study. Therefore, the study includes the results of the last elections that the Millî Görüş Movement parties participated in, such as the Refah Party's predecessor, the Milli Selamet Party, and the first election that the Fazilet Party, the successor of the Refah Party, participated in. Thus, six election results between 1984 and 1995 will be evaluated in Turkey's political reality without breaking away from the movement's historical and sociological continuity.