Abstract:

A general election was held on May 14, 1950, and as a result of the “traditional segment” and “Anatolian peasants” acting together, the power march initiated by the “silent masses” formed by the Democratic Party (DP) was won with great success. This success has been described as the “white revolution”. This was caused by the public’s reaction to the policies of the Republican People’s Party (CHP). Thus, the approach of “Enough is the Word of the Nation” was met by the people and with the DP winning the election, an elite change was also carried out in Turkey along with the change in power. This result, as Şerif Mardin puts it, is the victory of the periphery over the center. Those who opposed it described it as a “counter-revolution”. The Justice and Development Party (AKP), on the other hand, set out with the motto “Enough is the Decision of the Nation” on November 3, 2002 and came to power by making a “silent revolution” as a result of the “traditional religious” group and the “Anatolian tigers” alliance. The cadres that kept the AKP in power until 2014 were not elitist, therefore they did not engage in identity politics. They have been defined as “conservative” in the sense of preserving Turkey's cultural heritage and as “democratic” in defending modern institutions and values. This is how the acceptance of the “conservative democrat” identity began. The article was written using the qualitative research method. It explains the change initiated by the Democrat Party, which came to power in 1950, in the right-wing conservative politics of the Justice and Development Party government until August 10, 2014, when the president was directly elected by the people in the Republic of Turkey.

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