Spotlight 10/22: The 2023 Elections in Turkey. Can the Opposition Challenge Erdoğan and the AKP?

by Sezer İdil Göğüş | To the Publication

1 Kemalism stands for the principles of the founding father of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. There are six guiding principles: republicanism, populism, secularism, reformism, nationalism, and étatism.

2 Ciftci, K. (2013). The Kemalist Hegemony in Turkey and the Justice and Development Party (AKP) as an ‘Other’. L’Europe en Formation, 367(1), 143–169. https://doi.org/10.3917/eufor.367.0143 

3 Yavuz, M. H. (2009). Secularism and Muslim democracy in Turkey. Cambridge University Press: 2.

4 Rabasa, A. & Larrabee, F.S. (2008). The Rise of Political Islam in Turkey, Santa Monica, RAND.

5 Euronews (2021, September 17): Erdoğan: Cumhur ittifakı olarak 2023’te güven tazeleyerek devam etmek istiyoruz (Erdoğan: as the People’s Alliance we want to renew trust in 2023), https://tr.euronews.com/2021/09/17/erdogan-bizim-hizmet-anlay-s-m-zla-partizanl-k-otekilestirmek-yok-mezhebine-gore-ay-rmak-y

6 Erdoğan’s speech on 10.05.2015 in Karlsruhe, Germany, ahead of the June 2015 elections (in Turkish): https://www.tccb.gov.tr/konusmalar/353/32131/almanya-karlsruhe-bulusmasinda-yaptiklari-konusma (accessed 21.05.2022)

7 Genç, K. (2019). Turkey’s rule of one: President Erdogan’s government is challenging the result of Istanbul’s mayoral elections. This could test further whether separation of powers exists. Index on Censorship, 48(2), 8–10. https://doi.org/10.1177/0306422019858476

8 DW. (2021, September 13). HDP’den 2023 için tutum belgesi hazırlığı – DW – 13.09.2021. dw.com. https://www.dw.com/tr/hdpden-2023-se%C3%A7imi-i%C3%A7in-tutum-belgesi-haz%C4%B1rl%C4%B1%C4%9F%C4%B1/a-59167584

9 Rudaw. (2021, September 27). HDP, 11 maddelik ‘Demokrasi Tutum Belgesi’ni açıkladı. Rudaw.Net. https://www.rudaw.net/turkish/middleeast/turkey/270920211

10 The pandemic and the war in Ukraine are the reasons for the deterioration of the financial situation, as the Turkish government explains. This is indeed the case for many countries.

11 See Karsit, I. (2022, July 12). Turkey’s Far-Right Firebrand Umit Ozdag Wants to Expel All Refugees.https://foreignpolicy.com/2022/07/12/turkeys-far-right-has-already-won/ 

12 See Tremblay, P. (2022, June 23). Is this Turkish anti-immigrant party helping Erdogan? - Al-Monitor: Independent, trusted coverage of the Middle East. https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/06/turkish-anti-immigrant-party-helping-erdogan 

13 DW News (Director). (2022, July 23). Turkey played ‘indispensable’ role in grain deal, UNCTAD chief tells DW | DW | 23.07.2022. https://www.dw.com/en/turkey-played-indispensable-role-in-grain-deal-unctad-chief-tells-dw/av-62572244

14 Jégo, M. (2022, August 5). President Erdogan’s grain deal is a lesson in diplomacy. Le Monde.Fr. https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2022/08/05/president-erdogan-s-grain-deal-is-a-lesson-in-diplomacy_5992564_4.html

15 TRT World. (2022, August 21). Erdogan’s diplomacy makes Türkiye indispensable on Int’l stage – Le Figaro. Erdogan’s Diplomacy Makes Türkiye Indispensable on Int’l Stage – Le Figaro. https://www.trtworld.com/turkey/erdogan-s-diplomacy-makes-türkiye-indispensable-on-int-l-stage-le-figaro-59974

16 Wilks, A. (2022, August 1). Turkey reaps rewards in international standing as first grain ship leaves Ukraine—Al-Monitor: Independent, trusted coverage of the Middle East. https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2022/08/turkey-reaps-rewards-international-standing-first-grain-ship-leaves-ukraine

17 Benhabib, S. (2022, May 13): Turkey Is Exploiting the Fog of War | by Seyla Benhabib. Project Syndicate. https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/turkey-erdo-an-osman-kavala-life-imprisonment-by-seyla-benhabib-2022-05

18 Akal, Değer (2021, November 17): Türkiye kritik bir sürece giriyor (Turkey enters a critical period), DW, https://www.dw.com/tr/bat%C4%B1l%C4%B1-uzmanlara-g%C3%B6re-t%C3%BCrkiye-kritik-bir-s%C3%BCrece-giriyor/a-59842026

19 Topçu, Özlem & Arsu, Şebnem (2022, February 11): The mayor of Istanbul could prove dangerous to Erdoğan”, in Spiegel International, https://www.spiegel.de/international/world/the-mayor-of-istanbul-could-prove-a-dangerous-challenger-to-erdogan-a-a5a2c99c-0557-48b1-820e-17ca55e637f4

20 See Ülgen, Sinan (2019, June 24): Erdoğan’s loss in Istanbul could transform Turkish politics, The Guardian, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jun/24/erdogan-istanbul-turkish-imamoglu-mayor-turkey-akp

21 Sayın, Ayşe (2022, February 22): 6 liderin ‘yuvarlak masa’ toplantısının ardından, HDP ile müzakere kapısı açılabilir mi? (Would there be negotiations with HDP after the round table meeting of the 6 party leaders), BBC, https://www.bbc.com/turkce/haberler-turkiye-60475320