The AK Party's ideological shift: From "post-Islamism" to "Muslim nationalism"

Existing literature on Turkish politics emphasizes that Turkey had an authoritarian turn in the second AK Party term (2013 - ). However, existing literature has been silent on discourses of the AK Party's leaders before and after the authoritarian turn. This thesis focuses on discourses of the AK Party's leaders in general elections to examine the AK Party's authoritarian turn and asks "Is there any ideological shift in these two periods and can we follow this shift by considering the discourse of AK Party leaders in general elections (2002-2013, 2013-2018)?" To answer these questions, discourses of the AK Party's leaders are examined in six general elections. Thesis claims the AK Party's authoritarian turn can be seen by considering discourses of party leaders of the AK Party in general elections. This thesis shows that the first period of the AK Party (2002-2013) was a result of post-Islamist ideology that is relevant to Turkey's democratization, the second period (2013-2018) was a result of Muslim nationalist ideology that cause authoritarian turn.