Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Political Theory Commons

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration

Gettysburg College

Religion

Articles 1 - 1 of 1

Full-Text Articles in Political Theory

Did Secularism Fail? The Rise Of Religion In Turkish Politics, Zeynep Taydas, Yasemin Akbaba, Minion K.C. Morrison Jan 2012

Did Secularism Fail? The Rise Of Religion In Turkish Politics, Zeynep Taydas, Yasemin Akbaba, Minion K.C. Morrison

Political Science Faculty Publications

Religious movements have long been challenging the modernist and secularist ideas around the world. Within the last decade or so, pro-religious parties made significant electoral advances in various countries, including India, Sudan, Algeria, and the Palestinian territories. In this article, we focus on the rise of the pro-religious Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi- AKP) to power in the 2002 elections in Turkey. Using the Turkish experience with political Islam, we evaluate the explanatory value of Mark Juergensmeyer's rise of religious nationalism theory, with a special emphasis on the "failed secularism" argument. Our analysis indicates that the …