The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government, which came into power in 2002, marked the first time in Türkiye’s recent history that the country was governed by a party with a parliamentary majority. This ended years of weak and ineffective coalition governments, a turbulent era marked by administrative corruption, political violence, economic stagnation, a lack of public services and a series of events that led to military interventions.
In the pre-2002 period, visitors from any of Türkiye’s neighboring countries would not have felt like they had left a developing country and entered an advanced nation. In fact, during this period, many Arab cities were more structured and organized than Ankara or Istanbul, which were not preferred destinations for Arab youth seeking higher education opportunities.
However, with the AK Party’s success, many things have changed. It didn’t take long for Türkiye to become a regional and international model of success in terms of its governance, social policies, industry, academia and public services.
The AK Party is widely acknowledged as the political party that came to power through elections and remained in office despite attempts to remove them through the same democratic process. This is because a majority of the voters believed that the downfall of the AK Party would lead to a return to coalition governments, a stagnation of development, and a decline in thriving civic society institutions that had flourished in the past two decades. Such a scenario would only benefit extremist movements that were active within the opposition, posing a significant threat to the country’s stability.
The most recent of these threats was the coup attempt that Türkiye faced on July 15, 2016. The failed coup attempt represented an unparalleled act of resilience in the country’s history. Orchestrated by the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) and its leader Fetullah Gülen, the coup resulted in the loss of 251 lives and left 2,734 people injured. In the face of this threat, the brave Turkish people demonstrated to the world their unwavering determination to reject any endeavor that aimed to undermine their expressed will through the democratic election of their government.
Regardless of their diverse ideological backgrounds, every segment of Turkish society took to the streets to confront the 2016 military coup attempt and safeguard the state and democracy.
The Turkish people also came together in a similar manner during the presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14, and despite all the issues the country was facing, such as the economic crisis, the devastating Kahramanmaraş centered quakes and the refugee problem, the AK Party emerged once again as the victor.
Evidently, the electorate prioritized the security of the state over government services. It is worth noting that, despite recent challenges, the AK Party has a much better track record of fulfilling its election promises compared to other parties.
The AK Party ruled as the majority party, uniting its supporters around shared values and aspirations. This enabled the implementation of crucial strategic and structural reforms and established an efficient hierarchical central government. The influence of AK Party institutions extended across all sectors of Turkish society. The party embraced an inclusive political message that welcomed individuals from diverse backgrounds, fostering a sense of national unity and optimism for a new Türkiye. Within this framework, Turkish talents and energies thrived, propelling the country to become a formidable local, regional and continental power.
In such a context, any political force that seeks to dismantle the current political structure by accommodating various factions united only by their opposition to the existing system resembles a militia fighting against the idea of the state, even without donning military uniforms or brandishing Kalashnikovs.
The AK Party has faced numerous attempts, originating from outside the democratic mechanisms of the state, to remove it from power. These include the Gezi Park riots on March 2013 and the judiciary coups in December 2013 against the elected AK Party government through corruption accusations by the FETÖ. The above-mentioned military coup attempt in 2016, also orchestrated by elements within the armed forces with ties to the FETÖ, further challenged the AK Party’s authority.
Furthermore, there was an economic coup attempt involving the manipulation of the Turkish lira’s value and capital withdrawal orchestrated by both national and international financial mafias.
Last but not least, the Republican People’s Party (CHP)-led opposition alliance, which consists of six opposition parties with different views, united solely by aiming to remove the existing political order, and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, posed another obstacle.
Although each of these attempts did endanger the political system and brought Türkiye dangerously close to the edge of the precipice of the political vacuum that the AK Party had successfully moved the country away from two decades earlier, the party has demonstrated resilience and remained in power. However, these forces persist in the current elections, employing various slogans in an attempt to appeal to the Turkish electorate.
There exists a profound reservoir of political and societal goodwill in Türkiye that is committed to preserving the integrity of the state. This was most evident during the defense of the current government against the military coup in 2016, as the people rallied in response to the call from the elected government. This steadfast commitment is a precious element woven into the fabric of Türkiye.
The conventional image associated with a coup d’etat in Türkiye is that of an army takeover and tanks in the street. However, these days how a coup can be conducted are varied (including social media platforms). And since the ends are more important than the means, the ultimate health of the nation must be the yardstick by which political agendas are judged. This idea has not been at the forefront of the political campaigns in these recent elections.
Türkiye cannot gamble its modern renaissance and global position on the precarious results of an election campaign decided by a fraction of a percentage point. The reserve of political and social goodwill is enough to settle this election in favor of the state, especially after seeing it come under threat. The AK Party, which was able, with the support of the Turkish people, to redefine what the term “development” means, is capable of renewing and revitalizing the idea of the state to serve the national and regional interests. Türkiye is well placed for this task which will ensure enhanced security for the upcoming second centenary of the republic.
*Researcher and writer in Turkish-Arab strategic relations and Ottoman studies
