Hegemony in Turkey after 1980 and political struggle in the Rpp

Neoliberal thinking has been the main dynamic force in shaping the political sphere around the world after 1980s. Neoliberalism, which is based on economic determinism, has established a new world order with structural and ideological arrangements. This global transformation has also caused hegemonic struggles and fractures in Turkey. Turkey?s new road map was drawn with the General Election of 1983, when Motherland Party, which held neoliberal policies, won the office. Thus, 1980s were a critical phase in the establishment of bourgeoisie hegemony and deepening capitalism. With the ascendance of liberal ideology with an increased power, the Left and social democracy has begun to question itself. Motherland Party which developed neoliberal policies specific to Turkey, began to lose its hegemonic status in politics in late 1980s and early 1990s due to dead ends of neoliberalism. After winning the election in 2003, Justice and Development Party was able to reconstruct the hegemony of the capital, which was shaken by the devastating economic crises of early 2000s, and benefitted the crack in the hegemonic block. In this new period, when hegemony was being developed around the idea of ?conservative democracy?, social democracy continued to search for new ways to rise.Under these circumstances, as the party which has founded the republic, Republican Peoples Party (RPP) has tried to renew itself without losing its Kemalist discourse and social democrat identity. In this study, the transformation of the Republican Peoples Party since 1992 to present day is analyzed within the theoretical background of Gramsci?s views. The main pillar of the study involves an investigation of political and ideological discourses of the RPP. Gramsci believed that a more egalitarian and freer society can only be achieved with political parties (modern prince) that are shaped in collective will. In this context, the basis of the study consists an investigation of the tools and policies of RPP that are employed in the hegemonic struggle, and to analyze compliance of RPP?s discourses and policies with the theoretical model of Gramsci.