Copy For Citation
Bekaroğlu E. A.
Sociology of Islam, vol.11, pp.1-27, 2025 (Peer-Reviewed Journal)
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Publication Type:
Article / Article
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Volume:
11
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Publication Date:
2025
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Doi Number:
10.1163/22131418-11020004
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Journal Name:
Sociology of Islam
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Journal Indexes:
Index Islamicus, ERIHPlus
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Page Numbers:
pp.1-27
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Istanbul University Affiliated:
Yes
Abstract
Abstract
Over the past two decades, parallel backslidings of representative democracy and moderate Islamism have been unfolding. This is not a simple coincidence but rather both backslidings are driven by interconnected causes: the role played by global powers, the prominence of populism, and the character of political polarization. The trajectories of both democracy and moderate Islamist movements are contingent on the sequential effects of these three factors. Turkish case, where both backslidings have occurred concurrently, confirms this model. When the international environment favored democracy and moderate Islamism from the early 2000s until the commencement of the Syrian civil war, akp’s illiberal tendencies were suppressed. Nevertheless, from 2011 onwards with the lack of democratizing and moderating incentives, the akp intensified populist rhetoric, deepened political and societal polarization, concentrated power in the executive, gradually eroded democratic norms and institutions, and explicitly tilted the electoral playing field against the opposition.