Globalisation as an agent of party ideological change : the case of the Turkish religious right

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of globalisation on the transformations in the ideological orientation of the Turkish religious right. Studies on such changes often trace the causes of party change to three different variables, these being: leadership change, dominant party coalition change, and change in the party environment. As an example of change in party environment is arguably globalisation - which could be identified in short as economic and political liberalisation, democratisation, multilateralism, and intensification of individualism - bringing pressure to bear for party change. While the Turkish religious right was a substantially conservative movement in the past, thanks to a growing interest in economic development and prosperity, political rights and liberties offered by globalisation, it has acquired considerable liberal tendencies particularly in the second half of the 1990s.