Electoral Politics and Instrumentalization of Redistribution:Welfare Governance of the Justice and Development Party in Türkiye
Since 2002,the Justice and Development Party(AKP)has gradually developed and maintained electoral advantages in Türkiye.Electoral politics revolves around the game of redistribution,with welfare governance as a core element in explaining AKP's electoral performance.To maintain and strengthen its power,AKP has pursued welfare reforms by vigorously promoting the growth of social assistance programs,expanding welfare provisions in healthcare and public housing,and restructuring the social security system.AKP's welfare governance,driven by electoral politics,facilitated the systematic instrumentalization of redistribution,to a certain extent turning it into a crucial tool for solidifying its ruling coalition.AKP has employed extensive welfare distribution to attract its core voters primarily from low-income groups,while also utilizing welfare privatization to co-opt Islamic economic elites,thus maintaining a cross-class ruling coalition based on material interests and ideological consensus.Welfare governance provided legitimacy for AKP's electoral advantage and the expansion of its executive power.However,the recent narrowing of AKP's electoral advantage indicates that the legitimacy effect of welfare governance is gradually weakening.The reasons for this include the party's diminishing redistributive capacity and the widespread presence of clientelism.Given this double-edged effect,AKP should focus on improving citizens'livelihoods,getting rid of the trap of electoral opportunism in order to attain long-term ruling legitimacy.
Middle East politicselectoral politicsTürkiyeJustice and Development Partywelfare governanceinstrumentalization of redistribution
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