Non-Subscriber Extract
Turkey's changing landscape under the AKP
04 June 2008
Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi: AKP), which came to power in November 2002, is often credited as a liberal party.
However, the party's liberalism seems selective. For instance, while the AKP's constitutional amendments on the turban will further increase the rights of the Muslim majority in Turkey, explicit measures for the protection of non-Muslim minorities are still deficient, according to the European Commission. The AKP's liberal credentials can also be questioned in the economic sphere.
These examples hint that the AKP's brand of liberalism is a la carte; that the party emphasises certain liberal values while refusing to recognise others, especially when such values contradict those of the AKP. However, it remains to be seen whether the party's selective liberalism can erode the liberal values of the country. An investigation into the AKP's performance on social values in Turkey on two issues - drinking and women's role in society and government - might help to answer this question.