Change of conservativeness in Turkey: The example of the 2001-2021 Ak Party

Due to the rising neoliberalism in the world and in Turkey, the removal of politics from the field of economics and the evaluation of democracy with a populist definition in the sense of the will of the majority has caused a change in the policy practices of political parties. During this period, as a result of authoritarian governments or military coups pushing the left out of the field of politics, class politics was replaced by identity politics. While the economic programs of the parties on the right and left of the political spectrum were similar, radical democracy and populism became more prominent. In this context, the class characteristics, ideological agendas and order visions of the parties were veiled by populist democracy. In this study, the change of conservative ideology in Turkey during the neoliberal period was examined through the AK Party case study. The aim of the study is to reveal the fracture created in Turkish conservatism and politics by the AK Party, a party that has adopted a neoliberal economic approach, and the ideological background of the changes it has experienced during its twenty years in power. In this context, the position of the AK Party, which is different from the traditional centre-right parties, in the center-right environment during its three terms has been investigated. It has been analyzed from where the AK Party came to during its twenty-year political life, how it changed Turkish conservatism and how it transformed with Turkish conservatism. KEYWORDS: AK Party, Turkish Conservatism, Ideological Change