On The Political Perception of Conservatism in Turkey: A Fıeld Study Finding

Conservatism has been a strong strain of politics and social life in Turkey. Especially since the JDP came to power in 2002, this concept, along with the be-havioral patterns associated with it, has become an important topic in academic, political and popular debates and publications. Conservatism is likely to maintain its significance in the near fu-ture, because the JDP government continuously invokes it, di-rectly or indirectly, both in its discourse and conduct and thus maintains a socio-political environment in which it is impossible to be engaged in any discussion without some reference to the concept. However, despite its popularity and currency in debates, how conservatism is actually understood or defined by the politi-cal and social segments of the society that are considered or self-identified conservatives remains largely unknown. This study is an attempt to fill that void.