Perception of freedom in the programs of the "liberal political parties" that shape Turkish politics

Liberalism is an ideology aiming to protect individual rights and freedoms and advocaing the limitation of the state accordingly. The roots of liberalism emerged in the ancient Greek political and economic thought in the first age. Nevertheless, it can be said that liberalism was developed as a systematic way of thinking by John Locke in the political field and by Adam Smith in the economic field during the 17th and 18th centuries. Classical liberalism line still constitutes the backbone of liberalism today. Modern liberalism believes that state intervention, without interfering with individual freedoms, will contribute to the increase of social welfare. Neo-liberalism, which is the twentieth-century version of liberalism, is a program of self-return. Indeed, this intellectual tradition of liberal ideology tries to withdraw the state from many aspects of social life, by making a philosophical defense around a Libertarian line, and aims to reduce the role of the state to a "night watchman" position. The period of one-party rule of the Republic of Turkey (1924-46) did not generally create a favorable environment for liberal ideas and movements. The long-term discontent created by the single-party rule has increased the expectations from the new party, which is the predecessor of the multi-party political life that emerged with the promise of a democratic, liberal, defender of rights and freedoms, liberal economic model and partly defender of religion. That party will be the Democratic Party. When examining the lines of the Justice Party (Adalet Partisi), the Motherland Party (Anavatan Partisi), and the AK Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi), it is evident that the socio-cultural conditions of the time have influenced these parties differently. The Justice Party was fueled by anti-communism, but its emphasis on rights and freedoms did not gain prominence due to the widespread left-right conflicts. The Motherland Party continued the momentum it gained from the 24 January Decisions, while the emerging AK Party in the crisis-ridden 2000s brought a new vision to the right-wing with its conservative-democratic identity. And it can observed that the AK Party, which flourished in the crisis environment of the 2000s, has brought a new vision to the right spectrum with its conservative-democratic identity.