This book discusses the life and professional struggle of Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and the transformation of the CHP under his leadership. It deals with the transformational periods and phases of the CHP, up to the period when Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu became prominent in the party. The CHP’s transformation and how it variously affected its popular standing in public opinion and revealed political liabilities and limitations cumulatively can indicate and explain to what extent political parties are likely to change as leadership changes and different regime governing approaches take hold. Furthermore, this book aims to answer the following questions: How and for what reasons did Kılıçdaroğlu decide to ally with the center-right wing in the CHP? What was the collective impact of the center-right wing in positive and negative terms regarding the CHP’s general identity, especially in historical context? After the 2015 elections, what constituted the shifts and revisions in Kılıçdaroğlu’s ideology and how did they alter the political power of the CHP as a major opposition party? What evidence exists to shed light on his capabilities for building coalitions as a viable option for the possibility of forming a national government in elections?
Author(s): M. Hakan Yavuz, Ahmet Erdi Öztürk
Series: Reform and Transition in the Mediterranean
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2023
Language: English
Pages: 171
City: London
Praise for Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and the New Republican People’s Party in Turkey
Contents
1 Introduction
Introduction
2 The Ideology and History of CHP
Paradox of the CHP: The Party of the State vs. Social Democrat
Multiparty System (1946–1960)
Bülent Ecevit (1972–1980)
The Center–Periphery Thesis and the CHP
Deniz Baykal Era (1995–2010)
Conclusion
3 Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu: Life and Socialization
Kılıçdaroğlu’s Moral Worldview
Fathers and Sons: Erdoğan vs. Kılıçdaroğlu
Alevi Identity and Kılıçdaroğlu
Kızılbaş, Bektaşi, and Alevi
Dersim/Tunceli Sociopolitical Context
Memur Adam—Bureaucratic Personality
The New CHP and Its Identity
Conclusion
4 Kılıçdaroğlu’s Political Worldview
Moral and Political Worldview
State, Society, and Politics
Justice and Democracy
Secularism
Nationalism: Civic Nation
Moving to the Right or Reaching to the Conservative Population?
Kılıçdaroğlu’s Discourse of Amending (Helalleşme)
Kılıçdaroğlu’s Understanding of the Kurdish Issue
The Chief of the Anatolian Orchestra: The Table of Six
The Table of Governance and the Kitchen Table: A Collaborative Alliance
The Post-2019 CHP of Kılıçdaroğlu
Conclusion
5 Kılıçdaroğlu’s Foreign Policy
The Tenants of Kılıçdaroğlu’s Foreign Policy
Erdoğan vs. Kılıçdaroğlu’s Ideological Foreign Policy
The Pro-Wester Foreign Policy
The EU–Turkey Relations
Turkey’s Ties with Russia and Ukraine
Kılıçdaroğlu as a President: Challenges
Conclusion
6 Conclusion: The Prospects and 2023 Elections
The Building Blocks of Authoritarian Culture
The 2023 Elections and Potential Consequences
Bibliography
Index
