Hegemonizing Conservative Democracy and the Problems of Democratization in Turkey: Conservatism Without Democrats?

Abstract

This article examines the intellectual efforts in Turkey aiming at hegemonizing conservative democracy by diversifying and deepening its equivocal content vis-a-vis challenging alternatives. While globally acclaimed as an evidence of the compatibility of Islam and democracy, this article will try to show that, the real test is whether the Muslim circles will be able to overcome the limits of conservative democracy for a full-fledged democratization. Only then it is possible to build new discourses internalizing the diversity and hybridity of Turkey that is a sine qua non for the consolidation of democracy.