Post-Seküler Çağda Parti Değişimi: Türkiye’de Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi Örneği

Year 2023, 100th Anniversary Special Issue, 107 - 125, 27.12.2023

İlkim Özdikmenli Çelikoğlu

https://doi.org/10.18657/yonveek.1380444

Abstract

Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi (CHP) günümüzde hükümet partisi Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (AKP) karşısında Türkiye’nin ana muhalefet partisi konumundadır. CHP genellikle “katı” bir laiklik anlayışıyla özdeşleştirilmekle birlikte parti yaklaşık son on yılda Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu liderliğinde bir düşünsel değişim sürecinden geçmiştir. Bu çalışma, CHP’nin daha “yumuşak” bir laiklik anlayışına geçişini tasvir etmeyi ve açıklamayı amaçlamaktadır. Parti değişimi literatürünün önermeleri ışığında, bir iç ve iki dış faktör üzerinde durulmaktadır. İç faktör olan lider değişikliğinin etkisi, Kılıçdaroğlu tarafından başlatılan büyük stratejik ve düşünsel değişikliklere atıfla incelenmektedir. Dışsal faktörlerin ilki, yurttaşlık ve farklılıklar arasında yeni bir denge kurulması düşüncesi ve pratiğine işaret eden, dinsel savların ve imajların kamusal alanda daha fazla yer almasına izin veren post-sekülarizmin küresel ve yerel hegemonyasıdır. İkinci olarak, Türkiye’de başkanlık sistemine geçiş, CHP’nin kişiselleştirilmiş bir kazanan her şeyi alır oyununda muhafazakar partilerle seçim ittifakı kurma arayışına girmesine neden olmuş ve onu kolaylaştırmıştır. Bu faktörlerin CHP’yi klasik laiklik modeline bağlılığın yenilenmiş parti hedefi olan oy maksimizasyonunu gerçekleştirmedeki etkililiğini gözden geçirmeye ittiği öne sürülmektedir. Çalışmada ayrıca parti üzerindeki tersine basınç da ele alınacak ve partinin yakın gelecekteki eğilimleri öngörülmeye çalışılacaktır.
Anahtar Kelimeler: Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, Laiklik, Post-Seküler Toplum, Parti Değişimi
JEL Sınıflandırması: Z1, D72, Y80

Keywords

Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, Laiklik, Post-Seküler Toplum, Parti Değişimi

Party Change in the Post-Secular Age: The Case of Republican People’s Party in Turkey

Abstract

The Republican People's Party (RPP) of Turkey is currently the main opposition party against the ruling Justice and Development Party (JDP). While the RPP has usually been identified with a “rigid” understanding of secularism, the party has been experiencing a process of ideational change for more than a decade under the leadership of Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. This study aims to describe and explain the party’s shift to a “softer” version of secularism. Under the light of party change literature, one internal and two external factors are identified. The impact of leadership change, the internal factor, is examined with reference to major strategic and ideational changes initiated by Kılıçdaroğlu. The first major external stimulus is the global and local hegemony of post-secularism, which refers to the idea and practice of a new balance between citizenship and difference, allowing a greater space for religious arguments and images in the public sphere. The second is the transition to presidential system in Turkey, which both forced and facilitated the RPP’s search for electoral alliances with conservative parties in a personalized winner-takes-all game. It is claimed that these factors have made the RPP reassess the effectiveness of its commitment to classical secularism in meeting the renewed party goal of vote maximization. Reverse pressures on the party will also be examined in the article, with an aim of foreseeing the RPP’s leaning in the near future.
Key Words: Republican People’s Party, Secularism, Post-Secular Society, Party Change
JEL Classification: Z1, D72, Y80

Keywords

Republican People’s Party, Secularism, Post-Secular Society, Party Change

References

• Adak, S. (2021). Expansion of the Diyanet and the politics of family in Turkey under AKP rule. Turkish Studies, 22(2), 200–221. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683849.2020.1813579
• Anadolu Ajansı. (2021, January 29). CHP Ulusal Birlik Kadro Hareketi: İlkelerinden koparılan CHP, Türkiye için de kayıplara neden olmuştur. https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/politika/chp-ulusal-birlik-kadro-hareketi-ilkelerinden-koparilan-chp-turkiye-icin-de-kayiplara-neden-olmustur/2127291
• Angeletopoulos, G., and Aretos, E. (2021). “The times they are a-changin’”? Three Turkish opposition parties (Policy Paper Number 71). Hellenic Foundation for European & Foreign Policy. https://www.eliamep.gr/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Policy-paper-71-Areteos-and-Angeletopoulos.pdf
• Aytürk, İ., and Esen, B. (Eds.). (2022). Post-Post-Kemalizm: Türkiye çalışmalarında yeni arayışlar. İletişim.
• Başkan, F., Gümrükçü, S. B., and Canyaş, F. O. (2022). Forming pre-electoral coalitions in competitive authoritarian contexts: The case of the 2018 parliamentary elections in Turkey. Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, 24(2), 323–343. https://doi.org/10.1080/19448953.2021.2006006
• Berger, P. (1967). The sacred canopy. Doubleday.
• Bianet. (2010, November 4). Kılıçdaroğlu, 'yeni CHP'yi açıkladı. https://bianet.org/haber/kilicdaroglu-yeni-chp-yi-acikladi-125871
• Bila, F. (2008, November 18). Baykal: Örtülü kadınlar zincirlerini kırıyorlar. Milliyet. https://www.milliyet.com.tr/yazarlar/fikret-bila/baykal-ortulu-kadinlar-zincirlerini-kiriyorlar-1017494
• Bille, L. (1997). Leadership change and party change: The case of the Danish Social Democratic Party, 1960-95. Party Politics, 3(3), 379–390. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354068897003003006
• Boyraz, C. (2020). Populism and democracy in Turkey: The case of the Republican People’s Party. Reflektif Journal of Social Sciences, 1(1), 31–47. https://doi.org/10.47613/reflektif.2020.1
• Burchardt, M. (2017). Diversity as neoliberal governmentality: Towards a new sociological genealogy of religion. Social Compass, 64(2), 180–193. https://doi.org/10.1177/0037768617697391
• CHP. (2011). Sivil Toplum: Özgür İnsan Kardeşçe Yaşam (CHP Bilim, Yönetim ve Kültür Platformu Çalışmaları No: 2). https://chp.org.tr/yayin/sivil-toplum-raporu-2011/Open
• CHP. (2016, June 28). CHP Genel Başkanı Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu Habertürk Tv’de. https://chp.org.tr/haberler/chp-genel-baskani-kemal-kilicdaroglu-haberturk-tvde-katildigi-gundem-siyaset-programinda-gazeteciler-veyis-ates-bulent-aydemir-ve-yavuz-semercinin-sorularini-yanitladi-cumhurbaskani-akpnin-es-genel-baskani-pozisyonunda-28-nisan-2016?q=Laiklik
• CHP. (2018). Millet için geliyoruz - Seçim bildirgesi 2018. https://chp.org.tr/yayin/2018-secim-bildirgesi/Open
• Ciddi, S., and Esen, B. (2014). Turkey’s Republican People’s Party: Politics of opposition under a dominant party system. Turkish Studies, 15(3), 419–441. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683849.2014.954745
• CNN Türk. (2008, December 13). Baykal çarşaf açılımını anlatmaya çalıştı. https://www.cnnturk.com/turkiye/baykal-carsaf-acilimini-anlatmaya-calisti
• Cumhuriyet. (2010, October 27). ‘Asıl elden giden sosyal hukuk devleti...’ https://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/asil-elden-giden-sosyal-hukuk-devleti-191052
• Cumhuriyet. (2022, January 12). Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu'ndan 'Enes Kara' açıklaması. https://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/turkiye/kemal-kilicdaroglundan-enes-kara-aciklamasi-1899623
• Çaha, Ö. (2003). Turkish election of November 2002 and the rise of “moderate” political Islam. Alternatives: Turkish Journal of International Relations, 2(1), 95–116.
• Çitak, Z. (2020). The transformation of the state-religion relationship under the AKP: The case of the Diyanet. In P. Bedirhanoğlu, Ç. Dölek, F. Hülagü and Ö. Kaygusuz (Eds.), Turkey’s new state in the making: Transformations in legality, economy and coercion. Zed Books.
• Demiralp, S., and Balta, E. (2021). Defeating populists: The case of 2019 Istanbul elections. South European Society and Politics, 26(1), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/13608746.2021.1923639
• Dündar, S., and Taylan, Ö. (2017). İkı̇ laı̇klı̇k modelı̇ ve Cumhurı̇yet Halk Partı̇sı̇ (CHP). Dı̇cle Ünı̇versı̇tesı̇ İktı̇sadı̇ ve İdarı̇ Bı̇lı̇mler Fakültesı̇ Dergı̇sı̇, 7(14), 246–255.
• Emre, Y. (2015). Why has social democracy not developed in Turkey? Analysis of an atypical case. Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, 17(4), 392–407. https://doi.org/10.1080/19448953.2015.1063298
• Emre, Y., Cop, B., Aladağ, A., and Arslantaş, Ş. (2018). Kimlik siyasetleri ve kimlik mücadelelerinin CHP ve sosyal demokrasi ilişkisine etkisi. Ankara Üniversitesi SBF Dergisi, 73(3), 731–762. https://doi.org/10.1501/SBFder_0000002515
• Erçetin, T., and Boyraz, C. (2023). How to struggle with exclusionary right-wing populism: evidence from Turkey. Democratization, 30(1), 78–100. https://doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2022.2115031
• Esen, B., and Yardimci-Geyikçi, Ş. (2020). The Turkish presidential elections of 24 June 2018. Mediterranean Politics, 25(5), 682–689. https://doi.org/10.1080/13629395.2019. 1619912
• Esen, B., and Gumuscu, S. (2018). The perils of “Turkish presidentialism”. Review of Middle East Studies, 52(1), 43–53. https://doi.org/10.1017/rms.2018.10
• Gauja, A. (2017). Party Reform - The Causes, Challenges, and Consequences of Organizational Change. Oxford University Press.
• Gazete Duvar. (2022, October 23). Kılıçdaroğlu: Başörtüsü için aradım, Abdullah Gül de yakından bilir. https://www.gazeteduvar.com.tr/kilicdaroglu-basortusu-icin-aradim-abdullah-gul-de-yakindan-bilir-haber-1586042
• Ghatak S., and Abel, A. S. (2013). Power/Faith: Governmentality, religion, and post-secular societies. International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society, 26(3), 217–235. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10767-013-9141-z
• Glasner, P. E. (1977). The Sociology of Secularisation: A Critique of a Concept. Routledge and Kegan Paul.
• Göle, N. (1997). The quest for the Islamic self within the context of modernity. In S. Bozdoğan and R. Kasaba (Eds.), Rethinking modernity and national identity in Turkey (pp. 81–94). University of Washington Press.
• Gülalp, H. (2005). Enlightenment by fiat: Secularization and democracy in Turkey. Middle Eastern Studies, 41(3), 351–372. https://doi.org/10.1080/00263200500105984
• Gürpınar, D. (2022). Between technocracy, reason, and furor: Turkish opposition, the CHP, and anti-populist styles. Turkish Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683849.2021.2018653
• Habermas, J. (2006). Religion in the public sphere. European Journal of Philosophy, 14(1), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0378.2006.00241.x
• Habermas, J. (2008). Notes on post-secular society. New Perspectives Quarterly, 25(4), 17–29. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1540-5842.2008.01017.x
• Habermas, J. (2011). "The political": The rational meaning of a questionable inheritance of political theology. In E. Mendieta and J. V. Antwerpen (Eds.), Judith Butler, Jürgen Habermas, Charles Taylor, Cornel West: The power of religion in the public sphere (pp. 15–33). Columbia University Press.
• Harmel, R., and Janda, K. (1994). An integrated theory of party goals and party change. Journal of Theoretical Politics, 6(3), 259–287. https://doi.org/10.1177/0951692894006003001
• Hazır, A. (2020). Narratives on religion-state relations in Turkey: continuities and discontinuities. Turkish Studies, 21(4), 557–577. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683849.2019.1685881
• Hürriyet. (2007, May 22). CHP’ye sağdan iki sürpriz isim. https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/chp-ye-sagdan-iki-surpriz-isim-6555632
• Hürriyet (2010, September 22). ‘Bugün için laiklik tehlikede diyemem’. https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/bugun-icin-laiklik-tehlikede-diyemem-15837090
• Independent Türkçe. (2022, July 21). CHP'nin "muhafazakar açılımı" tartışılıyor... https://www.indyturk.com/node/533936/siyaset/chpnin-muhafazakar-açılımı-tartışılıyor…-muhafazakarlar-güven-duyar-mı-chp
• Kaya, A. (2015). Islamisation of Turkey under the AKP rule: Empowering family, faith and charity. South European Society and Politics, 20(1), 47–69. https://doi.org/10.1080/13608746.2014.979031
• Keyder, Ç. (1997). Whither the Project of Modernity? Turkey in the 1990s. In S. Bozdoğan and R. Kasaba (Eds.), Rethinking modernity and national identity in Turkey (pp. 37–51). University of Washington Press.
• Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. (2022, October 3). Bazı şeyler yürek ister, o yürek benim yol arkadaşlarımda var! [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBUgOV4NLLU
• Kılıçdaroğlu, K. (2020). Change in political party strategy and organization in Turkey: the Republican People’s Party in government and in opposition. Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 20(4), 593–615. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683857.2020.1833619
• Kurtoğlu, Z. (2009). Devlet aklı ve toplumsal muhayyile arasında din ve siyaset. In Ö. Laçiner (Ed.), Modern Türkiye’de Siyasi Düşünce Cilt 9 Dönemler ve Zihniyetler (pp. 617–633). İletişim.
• Kuru, A. T. (2011). Pasif ve dışlayıcı laiklik: ABD, Fransa ve Türkiye. İstanbul Bilgi Üniversitesi Yayınları.
• Lipset, S. M., and Rokkan, S. (1967). Cleavage structures, party systems, and voter alignments: An Introduction. In S. M. Lipset and S. Rokkan (Eds.), Party Systems and Voter Alignments: Cross-National Perspectives (pp. 1–64). Free Press.
• Mardin, Ş. (1973). Center-periphery relations: A key to Turkish politics?” Daedalus, 102(1), 169–90.
• Mardin, Ş. (1998). Türkiye’de din ve siyaset. İletişim.
• Mazzoleni, O., and Heinisch, R. (2023). Party change beyond the ‘classical models?’ The role of agency, context, and democracy. In N. Carter, D. Keith, G. M. Sindre and S. Vasilopoulou (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of political parties. Routledge.
• NTV. (2010, October 5). ‘Gereksiz yere türbana dolandık’. https://www.ntv.com.tr/turkiye/gereksiz-yere-turbana-dolandik,ZsLcIJp1HUqz1Us65yuZAQ
• NTV. (2019, October 4). Kılıçdaroğlu: Başörtüsünde hata yaptık. https://www.ntv.com.tr/turkiye/kilicdaroglu-basortusunde-hata-yaptik,a-o9d6OBqU6lUt7WIAXo5A
• Özbudun, E. (2013). Party politics & social cleavages in Turkey. Lynne Rienner Publishers.
• Özdikmenli Çelikoğlu, İ. (2020). Küreselleşme ve kimlik siyasetinin gölgesinde sekülarizmin dönüşümü. In E. Uzgören and D. A. Acar (Eds.), Küreselleşmenin Krizi, Pandemi ve Uluslararası Siyaset (pp. 103-132). Nobel.
• Pacześniak, A., and Bachryj-Krzywaźnia, M. (2019). Electoral defeat as ‘mother of party change’: Towards objective-subjective approach. Czech Journal of Political Science, 2, 122–134. https://doi.org/10.5817/PC2019 2 122
• Palabiyik, M. S. (2018). Politicization of recent Turkish history: (ab)use of history as a political discourse in Turkey. Turkish Studies, 19(2), 240–263. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683849.2017.1408414
• Panebianco, A. (1988). Political parties: Organization and power. Cambridge University Press.
• Sarıkaya, M. (2011, January 24). Kılıçdaroğlu’ndan tarikat açılımı. Habertürk. https://www.haberturk.com/gundem/haber/594519-kilicdaroglundan-tarikat-acilimi
• Selçuk, O., and Hekimci, D. (2020). The rise of the democracy–authoritarianism cleavage and opposition coordination in Turkey (2014–2019). Democratization, 27(8), 1496–1514. https://doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2020.1803841
• SODEV. (2020). Laiklik araştırması raporu. https://sodev.org.tr/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/laiklik-arastirmasi-1.pdf
• Şen, A. F., and Yenigün Altın, Ş. (2019). Sosyal demokrasiden yeni sağa CHP’nin söylemsel dönüşümü: Bir siyasal söylem çözümlemesi denemesi. Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, 21(3), 434–461.
• Taylor, C. (2011). Why we need a radical redefinition of secularism. In E. Mendieta and J. V. Antwerpen (Eds.), Judith Butler, Jürgen Habermas, Charles Taylor, Cornel West: The power of religion in the public sphere (pp. 34–59). Columbia University Press.
• Tosun, T. (2015). 7 Hazı̇ran seçı̇mı̇ne doğru Cumhurı̇yet Halk Partı̇sı̇ (CHP) (SETA Analiz Sayı: 128). http://File.Setav.Org/Files/Pdf/20150607131057_128_Chp_Analiz_Web.Pdf
• T24. (2020, January 19). Kılıçdaroğlu: Asıl muhafazakâr bizdik, yıllar yılı değişmemek için direndik. https://t24.com.tr/haber/kilicdaroglu-asil-muhafazakar-biziz-yillar-yili-degismemek-icin-direndik,856705
• Ugur-Cinar, M., and Acikgoz, A. (2023). Social democracy in Turkey: Global questions, local answers. The European Legacy, 28(6), 615–638. https://doi.org/10.1080/10848770.2023.2202466 Ugur-Cinar, M., Acikgoz, A., and Esen, B. (2023). Party change and cleavage shifting in the global South: the case of Ecevit’s CHP in Turkey. Southeast European and Black Sea Studies. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683857.2023.2197307
• Uysal, A. (2011). Continuity and rupture: The “new CHP” or ‘what has changed in the CHP?’. Insight Turkey, 13(4), 129–146.
• Wuthrich, F. M., and Ingleby, M. (2020). The pushback against populism: Running on “radical love” in Turkey. Journal of Democracy, 31(2), 24–40. https://doi.org/10.1353/jod.2020.0034
• Yavuz, M. H. (2003). Islamic Political Identity in Turkey. Oxford University Press.
• Yavuz, M. H., and Öztürk, A. E. (2023). Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu and the new Republican People’s Party. Palgrave Macmillan.
• Yükselir, S. (2010). Kılıçdaroğlu bıyığına mı tükürdü, yoksa sakalına mı? Sabah. https://www.sabah.com.tr/yazarlar/yukselir/2010/04/21/kilicdaroglu_biyigina_mi_tukurdu_yoksa_sakalina_mi