Turkey Post 1980 Coup D’etat: the Rise, the Fall, and the Emergence of Political Islam

Abstract

While it has often been perceived that Kemalist Turkey succeeded in firmly establishing secularization, the Islamist movement that followed the 1980 military intervention questioned the fundamental principles of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk by embracing Islamic identity and Islamic values in the social and public sphere. This paper will examine the rise, the fall, and the emergence of political Islam in Turkey following the 1980 coup d’état. Following the military intervention of 1980, the level of Islamic activism rose due to state policies during the 1980s and 1990s. It can be observed that the consequences of the Islamic tolerance during the 1980s and 1990s led to the rise and the fall of the Islamic leaning Welfare Party of Necmettin Erbakan. This paper will also explain how the Justice and Development Party (AKP) differed its policies from the Welfare Party, by blending a moderate Islamic identity with a pro-Western mentality, to achieve support and stability for Islamist politics.