Research Information System
Bilig, vol.76, pp.245-268, 2016 (SSCI)
© 2016, Ahmet Yesevi University. All rights reserved.A common idea related to Turkish center right parties’ perception of economy presumes that these parties are to a large extent liberal in their policy making processes and discourses – an argument which deserves a little critical thinking on. Despite the considerably liberalized trend especially from the period of the Motherland Party onwards, the naïve agent of the center right, namely the Democrat Party, indicated a duality related to the discourse and employment of political economy. Analyzing the economic policy of DP through their party programme, government programmes and the implemented policies of the DP governments between 1950-1960, this paper argues that the DP in fact lagged behind a full-fledged liberal framework. Nevertheless, the party considerably changed the Kemalist worldview on the non-existence of a variety of interests in the society and began to build partnerships through prioritizing economics as significant ex mero motu.