Stability and changes in the party system of the Republic of Turkey

The author analyzes the formation and development of the Turkish party system and then on the basis of this analysis reveals two types of indicators. The first indicator is changes in the party system. It includes the significant fluctuations in the structure of inter-party competition at the electoral, parliamentary and governmental levels. The second indicator, which is called the stable patterns of inter-party competition, reflects the constancy of the party system. This indicator is associated with recurrent models of competitive and cooperative relationships between parties, as well as qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the party system format. The analysis shows that since the transition to political pluralism, the Turkish party system has undergone a significant transformational path. Bipartism of the first decade is further replaced by a system of limited pluralism, leaning towards a dominant system. However, as a result of military interventions, the tendency toward political fragmentation, electoral volatility and ideological polarization prevailed, the peaks of which occurred in 1970s and 1990s. With the coming to power of the Party of Justice and Development in 2002, the party system has consolidated; it becomes a dominant party system. At the same time, more than half a century period of the Turkish party system development has a number of stable indicators. They include a bipartisan core represented by center-right and center-left political traditions, electoral dominance of center-right parties.