Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu period and social democracy in the Republican People's Party (2010-2017)

In this study, it is aimed to analyze the ideological identity, party policies and the leader's discourses of the Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu period in the Republican People's Party within the framework of social democratic ideology. Kılıçdaroğlu is trying to complete the ideological transformation in this direction by accelerating the social democratization process that started with the left of the center in the 1960s in the CHP. İf it is compared to the period of Deniz Baykal's leadership, it pursues a policy more clearly and decisively in line with the universal values and principles of social democracy. In this context, it has been argued in the study that Kılıçdaroğlu is trying to implement the social democracy, which is included in the ideological identity of the party, at the institutional and discursive level, and aims to make the party social democrat. In Turkey, there is a tendency to present the founding ideology of the party as an obstacle to the CHP's social democratization by the right and left. Contrary to this view, the idea that Kemalism does not constitute a negative aspect in terms of social democratic identity is dominant in the CHP. Although Kılıçdaroğlu gives priority to social democracy, it is seen that the CHP's founding identity is trying to bring social democracy together. However, the structural issues of Turkish politics such as the secularism problematic and the Kurdish issue and the political culture in Turkey create a controversial situation in terms of the social democratic identity of the party as well as the organizational problems of the CHP itself. Although Kılıçdaroğlu tries to find solutions to all these problems on a social democratic ground, the result reflected in the ballot boxes creates a perception that he is unsuccessful in this regard.