Sociological Interpretation of Revolution: Understanding Transformation under Justice and Development Party Rule

Abstract

Twenty-first-century Turkey is being rebuilt under the rule of the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi [AKP]), which protects Ottoman-Islamic heritage and takes a stand against the Kemalist-laicist order. This construction is based on the neo-Ottomanism narrative. The fundamental question guiding the study is whether this construction is temporary or revolutionary. Our main hypothesis in this study is that this neo-Ottomanism narrative, the reconstruction of society under the concept of New Turkey, according to the Ottoman-Islamic heritage, is a revolutionary construction. This revolutionary transformation was peaceful and imperceptible in its first period but has begun to make itself felt since the second term of the AKP, becoming particularly more visible since the party’s third term. It came to light in all its nakedness after the failed coup attempt in 2016. The study first specifies the dimensions of revolutionary transformation and then examines the transformation that has occurred under AKP rule in the context of the idea of revolution, taking into account the dimensions of revolutionary transformation. © Common Ground Research Networks, Hasan Yeniçırak, All Rights Reserved.