The Changing Faces of Populism in Turkey: From “Inclusionary Populism” to “Exclusionary Populism”?

This study examines the evolving populist policies of the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi or JDP) since it gained power in 2002. Although populism was embedded in the JDP’s policies from the outset, this paper argues that the dominant form of the JDP’s populism has transformed from “inclusionary” to “exclusionary.” Specifically, in its early years, the JDP leadership implemented inclusive populist policies to overcome the threat of party closure and expand its voter base. This policy worked well in the first two terms, and the JDP’s vote share increased to 49% in the 2011 legislative elections. However, as the economic indicators deteriorated and the clientelist resources shrunk from the end of the second term onwards, the JDP gradually shifted towards exclusionary populism, which relied on deepening polarisation along religious and ethnic lines to consolidate its voter base. However, this strategy backfired and consolidated the opposition voters under the umbrella of the Republican Peoples Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi or CHP). Overall, the populist transformation of the JDP’s policies overlapped with the tightening of authoritarianism in the country.