Grounds for the Emergence and Transformation of Islamist Political Parties in Turkey

This research seeks to examine the grounds for the emergence and transformation of Islamist political parties in Turkey including the rise to power of the Justice and Development Party with reference to the political and social developments in the country. Fascinated by the Western civilizational manifestations, the Kemalist revolution as the departure point of the modern Turkey intended to follow a Western path in an authoritarian manner. Such an approach could not provide a selfreference path for the Turkish society, and for this reason it gathered Turkish political groupings with a common denominator, namely opposition to the Kemalist political parties. With the fall of the old rivals, grounds were paved for the appearance of a multiparty democracy and presence of various parties particularly the Islamist ones. The authors examine the transformation of Islamist political parties in Turkey with reference to turning points in the country and analyze the impact of each of those events on the changes in the Islamist parties including the Justice and Development Party.