CANDIDATE SELECTION PROCESS AS A TOOL TO SHAPE A PARTY'S DOMINANT COALITION: THE CASE OF THE AKP IN TURKEY

Since its first incumbency after the 2002 general elections Turkish politics has witnessed considerable changes in the policies of the AKP in economic and political realms. Academics have tried to understand the nature and possible causes of these policy changes mostly focusing on the electoral concerns. This study provides a different dimension to the debate by focusing on the party organization as a possible dynamic preventing/enabling this kind of a policy change. As such, it relates the policy changes of the AKP to the changes in the inner structure of the party organization. This kind of change is tracked through the analysis of the social and political backgrounds of the members of the party’s main decision organ-the Central Decision and Administrative Committee.

BİR PARTİNİN EGEMEN KOALİSYONUNU ŞEKİLLENDİRMESİNDE BİR ARAÇ OLARAK ADAY BELİRLEME SÜRECİ: TÜRKİYE’DE ADALET VE KALKINMA PARTİSİ

İktidara geldiği 2002 yılından beri, Türk siyaseti, Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi’nin ekonomik ve siyasi alanda geliştirdiği birçok politikasının değişimine şahit olmuştur. Araştırmacılar çoğunlukla bu politik değişimlerin doğasını ve olası sebeplerini seçim perspektifi açısından anlamaya çalışmışlardır. Bu çalışma, bu tür bir politika değişimini/e destekleyen/engel olan bir dinamik olarak parti örgütüne odaklanarak tartışmalara farklı bir boyut kazandırma amacını gütmektedir. Bu bağlamda, çalışma, politika değişimlerini parti örgütünün içyapısındaki değişimle ilişkilendirmektedir. Bu değişim, partinin ana karar verme organı olan Merkez Karar ve Yönetim Kurulu üyelerinin sosyal ve siyasi geçmişlerinin incelenmesiyle ortaya konulmaktadır.

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