Politics in Turkey: Parties, Politicians and the Struggle for Power

Making sense of politics in Turkey requires more than anunderstanding of one man or one party. Turkey is country where multipleparties, ideologies, and politicians compete for the allegiance of voters. Feminists, Turkish nationalists, religious minorities, Maoists, Kurdishnationalists, the real-estate lobby, Islamists, environmentalists, and secularists are just some of the groupsthat vie for influence and even these groupsare fractured.By looking closely at recent political conflicts and illustrating their connections to a longer history of social struggles, this book presentsan account that remains readable without sacrificing the level of detail that is essential for fully appreciating those conflicts. Politics in Turkeylooks ateach of the major political parties in Turkey and tells thestories of the personalities and conflicts that shaped them. Rather than focusing solely on partyleaders, the book considers the lives of supporting figures, power brokers, and politicians who bridge divides within their parties