Talk: “The Evolution of Islamism in Turkish Politics in Light of the AKP’s Survival”
by Çağlar Ezikoğlu, Aberystwyth University
12.30 p.m., Tuesday, 25 April
A-130, FEASS Building
Abstract:
This research aims at exploring the evolution of Islamism in Turkish politics under the AKP (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi) rule. Although Turkey has been classified as a ‘flawed democracy’ in the literature, the current socio-political changes under the AKP governance questions whether or not it fits into the definition of conservative authoritarianism. Turkey has identified as an “illiberal democracy” that enjoys free elections, but not basic rights and freedoms, after previously promising a model of moderate Islamist democracy by AKP. Utilizing the political survival theories such as Selectorate Theory offered by Bruce Bueno De Mesquita’s, this study argues that the AKP’s Islamism has evolved from conservative democracy to conservative authoritarianism. It calls for critical and explanatory perspectives on the nature and complexities of the relationship between AKP’s political survival and Islamism in Turkish politics. This presentation highlights the most important contribution of my project with reference to AKP’s political survival: it eliminates orthodox explanations about the rise of Islamism and authoritarianism in Turkey such as the incompatibility between Islam and secularism/democracy.
Short Bio:
Çağlar Ezikoğlu graduated from at Ankara University, the Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Faculty of Political Science in 2009. When he finished this department, he completed his first MA in the same department in 2012. Following of this, he has started MA in European Politics at University of Sussex and he completed his second MA in 2013. He has been studying Ph.D. at Aberystwyth University in the Department of International Politics since 2014 September under Dr. Ayla Göl’s supervision.
His general research interests are; Political Islam&Islamism, Turkish Politics&Middle East Studies, Turkish Foreign Policy, Islam in Turkey, Democracy and Human Rights in Turkey and Middle East. He has published several op-eds and articles about these issues on OpenDemocracy, ResearchTurkey, E-International Relations etc. He presented several papers in the well-known international conferences such as BISA, ISA, BRISMES, BRAIS etc. between 2014 and 2017. He had a teaching experience in this department on the module of ‘Islam, Foreign Policy and the Developing World’ and ‘International Politics and non-Western World’.
Now, he is working as a ‘Senior Commissioning Editor’ in E-International Relations and he is a communication officer of BISA Working Group on the International Studies of the Mediterranean, Middle East and Asia (ISMMEA). He will continue his study until September 2017 as a visiting graduate student under Professor Alev Çınar’s supervision at the Department of Political Science of Bilkent University.