Political Opposition in Turkey: From Political Parties to the Geza Protests

In this talk, Dr. Sinan Ciddi explores the question of why Turkey¿s governing Justice and Development party (AKP) has been electorally unchallenged since 2002. Opposition parties have continued to remain electorally weak in the AKP era mainly due to an inability to challenge the incumbent¿s service-oriented performance record. This said, as of 2013, a new wave of citizen-based political participation in the form of street protests has challenged the AKP¿s confidence. The ¿Gezi¿ protests, which erupted in May 2013, have demonstrated that citizens may not need to rely on opposition parties or regular election cycles to voice their grievances.