Conservative Politics and Politicians in Turkey

Conservatism has been a strong strain of politics and social life in Turkey. Especially since the JDP came to power in 2002, this concept, along with the behavioral patterns associated with it, has become an important topic in academic, political and popular debates and publications. Conservatism is likely to maintain its significance in the near future, because the JDP government continuously invokes it, directly or indirectly, both in its discourse and conduct and thus maintains a socio-political environment in which it is impossible to be engaged in any discussion without some reference to the concept. However, despite its popularity and currency in debates, how conservatism is actually understood or defined by the political and social segments of the society that are considered or self-identified conservatives remains largely unknown. This study is an attempt to fill that void. It reports the findings of the qualitative analysis of the data collected for a comprehensive project, which included interviews with 126 local leaders in 12 provinces and from 6 different rightwing political parties (Justice and Development Party, National Movement Party, Felicity Party, Democrat Party)