Seren Selvin Korkmaz defends her dissertation on opposition strategies in Turkey

The spirits were high as Seren Selvin Korkmaz, a Ph.D. candidate at the Stockholm University Institute for Turkish Studies (SUITS), successfully defended her doctoral dissertation on 28 May at the Frescati campus.

Focused on the strategies and constraints of Turkey’s center-left Republican People’s Party, CHP, under the rule of the conservative Justice and Development Party, AKP, the thesis examines the achievements and failures of the main opposition party in its efforts to counteract autocratisation over the last couple of decades. Analyzing its behavior in three distinct historical phases, it traces the party’s movement from identity-based polarization (2007-2010) to a more flexible, pragmatic approach with a focus on alliance building (2011-2015) and a consolidation of this more inclusive stance (2016-2023).

The picture that emerges is one of a party for which electoral gains have come at the expense of alienation of some of its traditional supporters. Criticized by some for having been too accommodating to the political right and mistaken in seeking to placate nationalists, conservatives and secularists all at once, the opposition party is now faced with internal tensions and what some see as a dilution of a party identity too far removed from its previous focus on policies of redistribution and a strong public sector. Rather than depicting this situation simplistically in terms of success or failure, however, the thesis zeroes in on the party’s strategies, discourses and coordination efforts during the periods examined. In doing so, it seeks to contribute to the emerging literature on autocratisation and opposition behavior, while also drawing on existing scholarship on populism and polarization.

Referred to as a “trailblazer” by her supervisor, Dr. Paul T. Levin, during the post-defense celebrations, Korkmaz is already a frequent political commentator in Turkey, where she co-leads the think-tank IstanPol, of which she is also a co-founder. The topic of her defense seems timely, as it occurred only a few days after a Turkish court ruled that the leader of the main opposition party was to step down, in what was only the latest of a series of setbacks which have followed the major victories enjoyed by the party in the local elections of 2024. We wish Dr. Korkmaz well in her continued efforts to shed light on these developments going forward!

Text: Caroline Nielsen

Access the thesis here:
The Role of the Opposition in Autocratisation: The Case of Turkey's Republican People's Party (CHP)