Islamic Politics in Turkey

After Recep Erdoğan’s elevation to the presidency of the Turkish Republic by popular vote, it seems the victory of the Islamists against secularists in Turkey was complete. However, developments in the last few months indicate that Erdoğan’s spell on the population may be breaking. The elections are not due until 2023. With an openly Islamist President at the helm, is this the end of secularism in Turkey? What if he wins another five year term? This course will explore the path of Islamist politics, the current state of affairs, as well as Turkey’s relations with neighbouring Muslim states and Erdoğan’s expansionist agenda.

DELIVERY MODE

• Face-to-Face
  
  

SUGGESTED READING

• Soner Cagaptay, The New Sultan, I.B. Tauris, London, 2017.
  
  

COURSE OUTLINE

• The foundation ideology of the Republic of Turkey and Mustafa Kemal (founder of the Turkish Republic), The Turkish Republic after Mustafa Kemal
• Post World War Politics, Islam in the political arena
• The dominance of the Islamist Party and Erdoğan, “Creeping Islamisation” in the public sphere, Conflict between the secularists and the Islamists
• Current Turkish Foreign Policy, Turkey and the Islamic State, Turkey’s military operations in Iran, Iraq, Syrian and elsewhere
  
  

PLANNED LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of this course, participants should be able to:

1. Provide a brief outline of the history of Islamic politics in Turkey.
2. Understand the ideology of the Turkish state before and after the emergence of Islamist parties.
3. Identify the major issues that confront Turkey today.