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SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC POPULIST PARTY AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE TURKISH LEFT: AN UNFINISHED DREAM by BERK ESEN Submitted to the Graduate School of Arts and Social Sciences in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Sabancı University Fall 2005 SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC POPULIST PARTY AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE TURKISH LEFT: AN UNFINISHED DREAM APPROVED BY: Doc. Dr. Hasan Bulent Kahraman …………………………. (Thesis Supervisor) Doc. Dr. Cemil Kocak …………………………. Yrd. Doc. Dr. Ekin Burak Arikan …………………………. DATE OF APPROVAL: …………………………. ii © Berk Esen 2005 All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT SOCIAL DEMOCRATIC POPULIST PARTY AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE TURKISH LEFT: AN UNFINISHED DREAM Berk Esen Political Science, M. A. Thesis, 2005 Associate Professor Hasan Bulent Kahraman Keywords: Social Democratic Populist Party, Republican People’s Party, Turkish Left, Kemalism and Social Democracy One of the primary debates in Turkish political science literature is the surprisingly weak and rigid character of the center-left parties which caused social democracy to become a generic name for a progressive political culture and attitude instead of a fully-fledged ideology. This is more clearly seen when Turkish mainstream left parties are juxtaposed to their European counterparts. This is mainly an epistemological problem that revolves around the question of whether Turkish mainstream left ideology is compatible with the universal norms of social democracy. The aim of this study is to examine the roots and parameters of the inability of Social Democratic Populist Party to reformulate its static organizational body in accordance with societal demands and reinvigorate its ideology and political programme to better address the contemporary problems. A comprehensive analysis of the intra-party debates that occurred in this period is conducted by linking them with the important developments in the Turkish political landscape to detect epistemological causes of the question at hand. The ideological crisis of Turkish social democracy during the early 1990s is thoroughly discussed to get a full account of the intra-party attempts for renewal and understand why they have failed. The study has revealed that the failure of the SDPP leadership to more closely adopt the universal norms of social democracy is closely tied to the demise of statism that restrained the organizational structure and mission of the party, the crisis of Turkish modernity that distanced the party administration from the constituent groups and decline of Kemalism that challenged the ideological framework of Turkish center-left. iv ÖZET SOSYAL DEMOKRAT HALKÇI PART İ VE TÜRK SOLUNUN DONÜ ŞÜMÜ: BİTMEYEN RÜYA Berk Esen Siyaset Bilimi, M. A Tezi, 2005 Doç. Dr. Hasan Bülent Kahraman Anahtar sözcükler: Sosyal Demokrat Halkçı Parti, Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, Türk solu, Kemalizm, Sosyal Demokrasi Türk siyaset bilimindeki ana tartı şmalardan biri, merkez sol partilerinin zayıf ve kati karakterlerinin sosyal demokrasinin tam vücut bulmu ş bir ideoloji olmak yerine, ilerici politik kültür ve tutumları genel olarak tanımlayan bir jenerik kavram haline gelmesine neden olmasıdır. Bu durum Türkiye’deki merkez sol partilerin Avrupa’daki kar şıtları ile yan yana konulmasıyla daha açık görülebilir. Bu Türk merkez sol dü şüncesinin evrensel sosyal demokrasinin de ğerleri ile ne kadar uyu ştu ğu ile ilgili epistemolojik bir sorundur. Bu çalı şmanın amacı, Sosyal Demokrat Halkçı Partisinin dura ğan/devletçi örgütünün toplumsal talepler ve sorunlar kar şısında ideolojisini ve programını, bu beklentiler ve taleplerin do ğrultusunda yenileyememesin altındaki sebepleri ve çerçeveyi açıklamaya çalı şıyor. Bu esnada, parti içersinde olgunla şan tartı şmaları, güncel Türk siyasetinin ana noktaları ile kapsamlı bir şekilde inceleyip ve ba ğda ştırıp, epistemolojik nedenselleri gün ı şığına çıkarılmaya çalı şıldı. Türk sosyal demokrasisinin 1990’larda girmi ş oldu ğu ideolojik krizi, partiler arasında ve içersinde neden yenilenemedi ğini ve ba şarısızlı ğa u ğradı ğını anlamak için, detaylı bir şekilde incelenmektedir. Sonuç olarak bu çalı şma, SHP yönetiminin evrensel soysal demokrasi normlarını benimseyememesinin arkasında yatan temel faktörlerin ba şında, partinin ideolojik misyonunu ve örgütsel yapısını sınırlayan devletçi unsurların, parti yönetimini seçmen gruplarından uzakla ştıran Türk modernite krizinin ve Türk solunun ideolojik yapısını sarsan Kemalizmin gerilemesinin geldi ğini göstermi ştir. v Yeti şmemde büyük katkıları olan , zamansız kaybetti ğim dedem, Mehmet Çetin ve anneannem, Şerife Çetin’e vi ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Writing of this thesis was no easy task, not least due to the circumstances caused by my attending another academic program simultaneously. While the early ideas and the theoretical formation of the study occurred in my first year during my long chats with a few close friends and, more importantly, my dialogues with Hasan Bulent Kahraman in between his thrilling lectures, the actual research part was carried out in Bremen in the middle of my academic studies there, while writing was completed throughout the “extended” semester break of my second year in Istanbul. I, however, could not have successfully managed this daunting and challenging task, a schizophrenic process, as my thesis advisor puts it, without the encouragement of the following people whose support has been absolutely crucial and irreplaceable in this period. I would like to, first of all, thank my thesis father, Hasan Bulent Kahraman, who have planted in me the idea of exploring this very important topic and encouraged me in all the stages. This thesis, I believe, could not be completed without his valuable comments and insights but also his patience throughout the semester, even at times when I have fallen behind our agreed schedule due to my course load in Bremen. For me, it was such a unique opportunity and, indeed, privilege to be able to work with him after following his commentaries and reading his books, articles and newspaper columns on Turkish politics since my high school years. I would like to also express my gratitude to Cemil Kocak and E. Burak Arikan not only for their participation in my thesis jury amidst their other more important academic duties but also for their understanding and positive attitude towards me, especially in the final weeks of the writing stage. During my stay at Sabanci University, I have been blessed with many good friends who have been with me all along the way with their friendship and support and made my life on campus more enjoyable and intellectually satisfying. I will always be grateful to them as the memories of our shared moments will stay with me for the rest of my life. Firstly, I must mention Sinan Ciddi, whose friendship I have greatly enjoyed and immensely benefited from and with whom I have spent long hours, discussing some of the issues covered in this thesis, concerning Turkish left. I am both happy and vii proud of knowing him, since, as a talented young scholar in his own right, he will become one of the leading social democrat theoreticians in the decades to come. I especially want to thank Burcu Toksabay who has supported me with her love and care and shared with me both my happy and sad moments in this period. It was my luck to be able to know and spend so much time with her. I am deeply grateful to her for everything. I have to especially mention Evren Celik and Onur Muftugil, distinguished members of the “Gebze School”, who have to my delight occupied so much of my time these past one and a half years. It is now impossible to even think about this period without the radio programs, kebab nights, long tea breaks, “quantitative disasters”, Bozcaada meeting, corridor chats and countless other social occasions. They have contributed to my Sabanci days in ways that I cannot summarize with just a few lines here. Among others, I am also thankful for the friendships of my colleagues, Emre Hatipoglu and Tuba Demirci, who have enriched my experience as part of the Sabanci community and contributed to my personal and social life in so many ways. I especially owe to my high school friend, Onur Selimoglu, who, despite being accustomed to and maybe even bored with my political views for all these years, have taken the time to read the entire manuscript and made very insightful comments and suggestions. A special thanks goes to Gokce Ince, as part of the “Turkish gang” at International University Bremen for being there for me in the final and most difficult month when most of the actual writing of this thesis was conducted and also for making me get excited again with new feelings. Last but most importantly I cannot find the words to express my gratefulness and appreciation to my parents, sister and grandmother who have been most important to me in all these years. They have patiently abided by me in full support and encouragement without any hesitations not only during this process but also throughout my entire life. It is such a comforting thought to have a family on which I can rely at all times and in all circumstances. viii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1 CHAPTER 1. GLOBAL CRISIS OF SOCIAL DEMOCRACY: END OF HISTORY? 6 1.1 Keynesianism and the Developmental State 6 1.2 Emergence of New Right Hegemony 10 1.3 The New Labor and the End of Class Politics 13 1.4 The Collapse of the Centrally-Planned Economies 16 1.5 Globalization Phenomenon and the End of History 22 1.6 The Retreat of the Nation-State and the Global Crisis of Social Democracy 27 CHAPTER 2.

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