The historical roots of right-wing populism in Turkey: a spatial examination of the DP, ANAP, and AKP governments

Abstract

This article aims to explore the continuities and changes in Turkish political history by examining three predominant, populist right-wing political parties in Turkish multi-party politics: Democrat Party (DP), Motherland Party (ANAP), and Justice and Development Party (AKP). The article utilizes correlative and spatial analyzes to juxtapose these three cases to find out path dependencies and critical junctures in Turkish political history. The commonalities in these cases are the clear linkages of incumbent party support with the nature of party competition, initial mobilization of the masses in the earlier tenures of these political parties, and high spatial correlation in electoral outcomes. However, there are also differences among the DP, ANAP, and AKP governments correlatively and spatially. The article intends to contribute to the existing literature on Turkish politics, especially through the lenses of party politics and democratization.