Oggi la Turchia occupa oggi una posizione cruciale nello scenario internazionale grazie al processo di profonda trasformazione politica, economica e sociale che è in corso da tempo ed è promosso dall’attuale amministrazione conservatrice-democratica dell’AKP -Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi. (Partito della Giustizia e dello Sviluppo). La sua recente affermazione come partito di centro-destra con radici ideologiche religiose è un esempio di trasformazione politica, anche se, rifiutando ufficialmente ogni riferimento all’Islam e definendosi un movimento politico “democratico conservatore” è stato più volte accusato di minare i fondamentali principi kemalisti su cui si erge la Turchia moderna. Dalla sua peculiarità e dai trionfi elettorali che hanno sancito il suo incontrastato successo nasce l’interesse verso questo partito, volto a far luce sulla particolarità del progetto di “Conservative Democracy” e a esplorare non solo i diversi aspetti sottesi a questo concetto- finora inesistente nella letteratura politica-, ma anche gli effetti sulla vita sociale e sulla politica turca. In altre parole, il successo dell’AKP e i dinamici cambiamenti riflessi dal sistema partitico sono la principale ragione per condurre un’analisi sulla sua organizzazione e strategia e rappresentano anche un interessante caso di studio riguardo il grado di compatibilità tra Islam (moderato) e democrazia liberale. / Nowadays, in the international context Turkey is in a crucial position because of its political, economic and social transformation process. This is the extent of the current conservative –democratic administration. The recent rise of AKP - Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi- ( Party oF Justice and Development) as center-right party with an Islamic background is a clear example of political transformation. However, even if it doesn’t refer to Islam and define itself as an conservative-democratic party there is suspicious that its performance aims to mine the kemalist principles of the Country. From its peculiarity and its electoral triumphs arises the interest towards this party and its idea of Conservative Democracy- a new concept in political literature-aiming to explore the effects on political and social life in Turkey. This big success and the change inside of Turkish party system are the main reason to explore AKP’s strategy and organization. Moreover, this is an interesting case study about the compatibility between moderate Islam and liberal democracy

Trough this thesis, it is aimed to study &quot / the conservative-democratic&quot / identity of the Justice and Development Party(AKP), which was established just before the November 3, 2002 elections and has still been running the country as the single party, in the context of the Turkish center-right tradition. Although the AKP comes from the political legancy of the National View Tradition (MG), it has presented itself as a new political formation at least aspiring to a centrist location in the political spectrum.Thus, the AKP puts itself in the political tradition inherited from the Progressive Republican Party, the Democratic Party, the Justice Party, and Turgut &Ouml / zal&#039 / s Motherland Party with an attempt to forge a synthesis between liberal and conservative trends within Turkey around a new social consensus. In this thesis, the components of the &quot / conservative-democratic&quot / rhetoric of the AKP is analyzed to shed light over its conceptualization of democracy, pluralism, social change and secularism.This thesis is presented through an over its rhetoric of &quot / change&quot / . It is argued that the conservative-democratic rhetoric of the party is characterized by ambivalent points, if not contradictions, which reflect the party&#039 / s ongoing search for a distinct position and identity and its aim of appealing to broader sections of the conservative electorate.

Through this thesis, it is aimed to study the democracy understanding of the Welfare Party (the WP), which was closed down in 1998 by the decision of the Constitutional Court, and the Justice and Development Party (the JDP), which leaved the November 2002 general elections as the leading party and has still been running the country as the single party, in a comparative way. Since the foundation of the JDP, the founders have presented the JDP as a new political formation, which is different from the WP, with which it shares the same political legacy of a tradition (National Outlook Tradition). In that context, through this thesis, the change of claim of the JDP&rsquo / s founders is tried to analyze by settling democracy understanding of these two parties to the center of the study and clarifying the points f change and continuity. The comprehension is tried to do by studying these two parties&rsquo / understanding of society and politics and analyzing how these two parties define and discuss the term of democracy and related concepts such laicism, human rights, participative democracy, pluralist democracy in their discourse. The internal and external factors that affected the parties&rsquo / both the understandings of society and politics / and definition of the term of democracy and related concepts have also been studied. The official party documents, the statements of party authorities and the books of Milli G&ouml / r&uuml / S and Muhafazakar Demokrasi are referred as the primarily resources and the main relevant studies of the Turkish political history literature about the political Islam, state-religion relation, National Outlook have also referred as the secondary resources.