Domestic Situation of Republican Türkiye in 2000–2024

Abstract

The beginning of the 21^st century is one of the most interesting periods in the history of modern Türkiye as it is characterized by confrontation between Secular and Islamic circles. At the beginning of the 21st century, the success of the Justice and Development Party of the Islamist orientation was undoubtful. The ground for it had been prepared by the 1990s, when the Welfare Party of the Islamic orientation took the leading position and won the majority in the parliament for the first time in the history of Türkiye. At the beginning of the 21^st century, such a development of events had a shocking effect both on the secular authorities of Republican Türkiye and on Western politicians. Türkiye, as a member of NATO and a candidate country for joining the European Union, faced a historic choice: would it turn into a state based on Islamic truth and values, ​​or would it remain a secular state. Between 2000 and 2024, the secular authorities (both military and civil) ignored the true causes of the socio-political situation created in the country and failed to reveal the reality. However, many of these causes were artificially created by them.

The purpose of the presented scientific paper is to depict the current issues of Türkiye’s internal policy in 2000–2024, namely, to study the role of the Islamic Justice and Development Party and its leader – Recep Tayyip Erdoğan – in the life of the country.

The chronological framework of the paper covers the years 2000–2024. This was mainly due to the fact that at that time a new era started in the political life of Türkiye. This period was characterized by the subsequent rise of political Islam in the socio-political life of the country, which brought great success to the Islamic Justice and Development Party and its leader Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Thus, the study of the issues mentioned in the presented work will clarify some of the problematic issues of Türkiye’s internal policy in the 21^st century.