Contested Hegemony Building in A.K.P.’s Turkey

During its over 20 years in power, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his party, the A.K.P., have ruled uncontested, transforming not just the country’s politics but also significantly influencing the culture. This edited volume gathers eight authors who have explored how this has played out within multiple realms of the field of culture, not only in Istanbul, but also in lesser-studied areas of Turkey. It is through the study of the A.K.P.’s politics that we discover how they have shaped culture, and how, in turn, cultural outlets have provided forms of resistance, forcing A.K.P. to either accept its limitations or change its strategies. This is an essential read for those looking not just to understand changes in the cultural sphere, but also those interested in authoritarianism globally.

"Political scientists have studied institutional change and political strategy to explain Turkey’s slide to authoritarianism. This book foregrounds narrative and affect to tell the parallel story of the cultural contestations at the heart of Turkey’s transformation. Eloquently readable and eminently interdisciplinary, a must-read for debates on authoritarianism and post-Kemalism."

—Ceren Belge, Associate Professor, Political Science, Concordia University

"A timely and valuable contribution not only for students of modern Turkey but for anyone interested in the contentious politics of cultural hegemony and resistance. Through insightful essays on art, architecture and the urban landscape, this volume shows how, despite decades of neoliberal transformation and AKP rule, the ‘New Turkey’ still struggles to be born."

—Karabekir Akkoyunlu, Research Associate, SOAS University of London; Visiting Professor, Federal University of Minas Gerais