The formal opposition in Turkey during the era of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk The Republican Liberal Party as a model

Abstract

This research deals with the formal opposition in Turkey during the era of President Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, represented by the Republican Liberal Party in 1930, which was founded in the wake of the economic crisis that Turkey went through in the late 1920s, which greatly affected the internal situation and led to great discontent in Turkish society and even within the ruling Republican People's Party. Ataturk tried to absorb that discontent by creating an opposition party that would be under his direct supervision, and on this basis the Republican Liberal Party appeared, but that party did not last long as it was closed three months after its establishment.

The party's experiment and attempt to project a form of democratic discourse directly clashed with the political practices of the ruling power in Turkey at the time. Multiparty politics in Turkey, under the dominance of the Republican People's Party, was governed by personal considerations embodied by Atatürk, ensuring it posed no threat to his authority. The Free Party's origins were inextricably linked to the ruling power, as it was formed at Atatürk's behest, thus preventing it from pursuing policies outside his dictates. The party's emergence revealed a latent opposition seeking an outlet to express its discontent with the ruling power, evidenced by its appeal to broad segments of Turkish society. The party's experience demonstrated that the ruling regime in Turkey does not tolerate genuine, effective opposition because it perceives it as a threat.