How can Akşener's Iyi Parti contribute to Turkey's Democracy?

Abstract

Since the founding of Meral Aksener's Iyi Parti (Good Party) in October 2017, expectations for Turkey's newest political bloc have been mounting, particularly that it can reverse Turkey's march towards an empowered presidential system and return to democratic parliamentarism. This article argues that for the Iyi Parti to play a game-changing role and genuinely contribute to Turkey's democracy, it has to accomplish three missions: (1) leave the radical right, MHP heritage entirely behind once and for all, (2) promote intra-party democracy, and (3) embrace a positive and constructive discourse on the Kurdish issue. However, with a profile just like or at least similar to the former center-right parties of the pre-AKP period, the party is most likely doomed to fail.