Turkey, officially a secular state, voted in an Islamist party in 2002, 2007 and 2011. How far does this reflect the trend which has seen the rise of political Islam across the Middle East? Does this indicate a growing tendency in the direction of Islamisation amongst the Turkish population? If not, what are the underlying reasons behind the electoral triumphs of the Islamist Justice and Development Party (the AKP)? Kayhan Delibas seeks to answer these questions through an in-depth examination of the appeal of this political party, exploring its ideology, the routes and motives which produce...

The coup d'etat which took place in Turkey on 12 September 1980 was the third in the history of the Republic, and ushered in a three-year period of military rule. Nilgun Onder investigates the economic transformation of Turkey after this coup, examining both the policies enacted under the military regime and those during the subsequent period of civilian government. Onder argues the key aspect of economic policy was that of neoliberal restructuring, and integral to this was the exclusion of organised labour from the political process. In doing so, she highlights the irony of the era: that at...

TV Talk shows, often seen as vulgar and low-brow, can actually be a vehicle through which hitherto undiscussed topics (such as violence against women or political exclusion) are brought into the public sphere. Solen Sanli argues that this is the case in Turkey, where talk shows often invite ordinary women from lower socio-economic classes to speak of their experiences of family life: marriage, divorce, child custody rights and relations with in-laws. Specifically looking at popular women's talk shows such as these (commonly called 'Woman's Voice' television), Sanli explores how groups with...

The most significant political development of the post-Cold War era was, arguably, the diffusion of neoliberalism across the globe. Yet behind the illusion of abundance and development, the 'rule of the market' can be violent and destructive, exploiting the environment, dismissing cultural or historical conservation and ignoring individual rights. This book now examines the emergence and consequences of neoliberalism in Turkey. Of particular importance to the study are the contested spaces - those sites of struggle and protest - where the impact of this economic system is challenged or...

Despite being democratically elected, Turkey's ruling AKP party moved towards increasingly authoritarian measures in the years that followed. After the coup attempt in July 2016, the AKP government declared a state of emergency which President Erdoğan saw as an opportunity to purge the public sector of pro-Gulenist individuals and criminalise opposition groups including Kurdish separatists, Alevites, leftists and liberals. The country experienced political turmoil and rapid transformation, and debates around constitutional amendments began that would change the regime to a "Turkish...

The founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, came to power in 1923 with a radical and wide-ranging programme of reforms, known collectively as Kemalism.