What question did this study set out to answer?

The aim is to explore the evolution of Türkiye’s constitutional identity from a Kemalist exclusionary framework to an illiberal model under the AKP.

March 21, 2026

The constitutional identity of Türkiye from Atatürk to Erdoğan: From exclusionary to illiberal in one century

Key Points

The aim is to explore the evolution of Türkiye’s constitutional identity from a Kemalist exclusionary framework to an illiberal model under the AKP.
Historical analysis of Türkiye's constitutional developments from the Ottoman Empire to the present
Examination of constitutional features during Atatürk's and Erdoğan’s leadership
Analysis of the role of ethnic and religious movements in shaping constitutional identity
Identified a transition from a nationalist and secular constitutional identity to a competitive authoritarianism
Found evidence of illiberal features in AKP's constitutional identity
Demonstrated how Kemalist approaches may have fostered current authoritarian trends.

Abstract

Abstract Establishing the Republic of Türkiye on the ashes of the religious-based legal system of the multicultural Ottoman Empire, the Kemalist elite rejected the Ottoman past and imposed an exclusionary constitutional identity grounded in the principles of nationalism and secularism, only partially compliant with liberal-democratic constitutionalism. Thereafter, ethnic-based movements, as well as religiously inspired ones, sought to challenge the Kemalist constitutional identity. The former achieved only minor results, while the latter proved largely unsuccessful until the Justice and Development Party’s (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP) accession to power in 2002. Despite its declared intention to better comply with liberal-democratic constitutionalism, the constitutional identity proposed by the AKP encompasses several illiberal features, fully consolidated in a competitive authoritarianism at least from 2010–13. At present, therefore, Türkiye is transitioning from an exclusionary constitutional identity to an illiberal one, both constructed through a dominant state led by charismatic figures and supported by acquiescent constitutional interpreters who have corroborated the misinterpretation of the tenets of the rule of law. This article investigates the content of Türkiye’s constitutional identity, describes the complex path of Türkiye’s identity-building, and questions whether the Kemalist exclusionary approach represented fertile soil for the competitive authoritarianism the country has been experiencing in the AKP era.

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