The consolidation of political Islam in Turkey

Resumen

Until the end of 20th century, the possibilities for an Islamist political party to rule in Turkey were minimal. It was due to the secularist character on which the Republic was founded almost a hundred years ago and the role that the army deployed as guardian of secular rule and Kemalism, in general. However, briefly in 1996 and later uninterruptedly from 2002 on, a party belonging to the Turkish Islamist tradition has ruled Turkey. Such long hegemony has implied social and institutional transformations within the country, and the leading roles played by Erdogan and his party, the AKP, have been crucial. The recent rise of Political Islam in Turkey is the consolidation of a process that initiated decades ago whose background is the religious orders that involved in electoral politics through a long-term project that reached its best results in the 21st century.