Özet:

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 quantitative 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, Motherland Party and Great Union Party) conducted in 2009 and employed both quantitative and qualitative research methods to offer a profile of the rightwing and/or conservative politicians in Turkey. It examines rightwing politicians’ perceptions and definitions of the concept of “conservatism” and the meanings they attribute to it. The narratives of the politicians interviewed, as a whole, show that they tend to perceive and define conservatism in a sociocultural framework more readily and expensively than the way they define it as a political disposition. Thus, the study provides empirical support to the claims that cultural conservatism is an old and fundamental aspect of the rightwing political tradition and thought. Conservatism perceived or defined as connected to sociocultural values, which is referred to as “ordinary conservatism” in this study, can be described as having two dimensions: (1) conservatism based on religious, traditional and moral values, and (2) conservatism expressed in daily practices or habitus. This sociocultural conservatism, defined largely in terms of religious, traditional and moral principles and norms may include certain abstract visions (about what ought to be). However, in addition to these abstractions, conservatism also involves a series of concrete and everyday practices, which may correspond to the abstract notions. Although it may be difficult to separate these two dimensions of sociocultural conservatism, it is important to note the distinction and acknowledge the tension between them. Only by being cognizant about the tension between these two perceptions of conservatism, can we avoid homogenizing and making overgeneralized assumptions about conservatism

Anahtar Kelimeler: