AK Party foreign policy: The regional context
As Türkiye learns to use its soft power along with its military might, it continues to pursue a successful foreign policy and a role as a regional leader
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Alevis, identity politics and election strategies
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s visit to the Hüseyin Gazi Cemevi, an Alevi house of worship, following the recent assaults on three cemevis in Ankara came to be viewed as a sign that various identity groups were back on the political agenda. Some argued that Erdoğan’s visit, along with his plan to visit the Hacı Bektaş Lodge, was an 'investment for the election.'
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The common theme in the 2023 campaigns of all parties will be Türkiye’s critical importance.
Erdoğan does not view Davutoğlu or Babacan as 'politicians' to drive party politics, while the Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA) and the Future Party (GP) cannot promote a new brand of politics or create a new discursive framework
Türkiye’s political parties will ostensibly fight over the Kurdish vote bank in the 2023 election campaign. That competition has already fueled rumors about a new “opening,” yet it remains unclear whether that will lead to concrete and comprehensive policy proposals.
The psychological test of the election process
Obviously, the governing party bears responsibility for any action it takes – or does not. What really needs to be discussed is why the opposition cannot represent an alternative despite that baggage. The opposition seems to underestimate its own ability to make new points to target the government, instead fueling fears and concern.
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Opposition's foreign policy and conservatives' gains
On May 29, the leaders of six opposition parties met for the fourth time and unveiled a list of 'fundamental principles and objectives.' Supporters of the Future Party (GP) and the Democracy and Progress Party (DEVA) attached particular importance to the declaration, portraying the move as the relevant parties agreeing on a common vision – in addition to their previous proposal for an 'augmented' parliamentary system.
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A list of 10 questions, which President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed to Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) chairperson, in his address to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) caucus last week, sets the framework for the 2023 election campaign.
Although election day is approaching, the opposition bloc in Turkey, with their 'roundtable meetings,' cannot come up with a convincing agenda to excite the electorate
The opposition parties in Turkey are having trouble preparing a proper strategy for their road to the upcoming elections
Whatever it does, the opposition bloc in Turkey fails to come up with a consistent mutual political agenda against what it sees as its rival
It sounds funny, but it's true. The Turkish opposition pinned their hope on the recently held elections in Hungary and was disappointed with the result
Turkey is at a time and place where neither the People’s Alliance nor the opposition can view the 2023 elections as a done deal
The opposition could contribute to the long-term rationalization of the alliance system by creating a program and identifying one or more candidate(s) that could take Turkey beyond the 2023 election with an eye on the balance between foreign policy, domestic politics and the economy.
The 2023 elections in Turkey could be the most original contest in our nation’s political history – for several reasons.
The leaders of DEVA and the GP have already taken some steps. They are attempting to be more active and to generate some level of legitimacy for their movements.
Everyone agrees that Turkey will hold a very competitive election in 2023. To say that the language of politics in the country, which is already living in the shadow of the election, has grown stronger no longer amounts to actual analysis.
It is no secret that the CHP, which constantly attempts to reach out to the political right, has failed to win over conservatives to date. The political engineers cannot seem to wrap their heads around the nature of religious conservative voters, however hard they may try.
The main opposition leader keeps making mistake after mistake, miscalculation after miscalculation
Turkey’s political opposition has been saying the same thing, over and over again, since the 2019 municipal elections: 'The country is not being governed properly. Let us hold early elections.'
