CKMP and MHP action between the years 1965-1969

Political parties are indispensible elements of contemporary democratic political systems. On the one hand, political parties are the main factors which determine the existing political system, on the other hand, they function as the reflector or mirror of the existing political culture where they live in it. These functions of the political parties were institutionalized and restricted with certain rules and regulations of the time. Today, the most important thing for the well functioning of a democratic system is not only existence of political parties, but also the policy making style or method from formation of the smallest local unit to the selection of the leadership are crucial. Policy making method, helps us to determine and understand the existing political system. In the democratic political systems, leader and administrative echelons of the party organisation are being elected as parallel to the democratic practice. The main argumentations which are generally carried out during the election campaign and the phases of election process, show us both the development level of democratic culture and also the affect of the ideology of the party. The arguemantations of the party and stages of elections during the election campaign are under the influence of ideology of the party and development level of democratic culture. Specifically, it is easy to see this reality in the history of the CKMP. In the 1965 Congress of the CKMP, it was possible to see the nationalist ideology of the CKMP as the same level in the other political parties. With the leadership of Alparslan Türkeş and in the aftermath, the nationalist ideology has became the main determining factor in the party organisation of the CKMP. After 1965, the CKMP?s political ideology ?nine lights doctrin: dokuz ışık doktrini? was openly declared to the public opinion and especially Turkish Youth was chosen as the main target for the understanding and consolidation of this ideology. While the CKMP was trying to be a nationalist party, at the same time, there were some social conflicts and societal unbalances as a result of fast development in Turkey. Due to these developments, emergence of social class consciousness and ideological polarizations happened in this period of time. Social conflicts in this transformation period reflected on political struggle and it also affected the ideological understanding or context of Turkish politics. In the period untill the 1969 Congress of the CKMP, some of the former leader and administrative cadres of the party organisation resigned from their positions and left their party. But, the most important thing which happened in this time, was the saperation of some close friends of Turkeş from the CKMP. In the beginning, they had joined the CKMP with their close friends Turkeş. There were two reasons behind of this reality. On the one hand, some of them were against the administrative style of Turkeş and they started to criticise their leader. On the other hand, some of them had some personal aspectations, but their aspectations and wishes did not become realized. The 1969 Congress of the CKMP, is very important both for Turkish political history and also for the CKMP itself. This congress is really crucial for the party, because ideological coherence and infrastructure was realised to a certain degree. Symbolically, restructuring of the party has happened just after this congress. In 1965 Congress, there were some general ideas that, changes in the party program were not suitable with the name and symbol of the party. Therefore, there were some aspectations among the party echelons to change the name and symbol of the party. This aspectation was put into the agende of the party program in the 1969 Congress. As a conclusion, the name of the CKMP (Republican Peasants Nation Party) was changed as MHP (Nationalist Action Party) and the amblem of the party has been changed as three crescents. After the emergence Nationalist Action Party in the 1969 Congress as the continuation the CKMP, it played an important role untill today as a nationalist-oriented political party in the Turkish political history. MHP has been continuing its political life in Turkish politics. Every political organisation, reflectes the characteristics of social and political conditions of the time which it comes from in it and sits on the historical background of that time. For this reason, when some considers the CKMP, he or she has to take the historical conditions of the time into account. The transition process from CKMP to MHP, has to be accepted as a continuity. Key Words 1. Nation Party 2. Republican Nation Party 3. Republican Peasant Nation Party 4. Nationalist Action Party