Despite being a potential periphery movement element in Türkiye, Alevis have not yet been able to transform into an institutionalized political periphery movement. The (Türkiye) Unity Party ((T)BP), the first concrete and clear example of this failure to transform, has demonstrated considerable experience as the first Alevi party in Türkiye during its 15-year political journey. At the same time, the (T)BP is the first instance of political Alevism and Alevism becoming a party in Türkiye. This study offers a qualitative analysis from a descriptive perspective, examining the periods of rise and decline of the (T)BP within Turkish political life as a whole. In this context, the main finding of the study is that the (T)BP, Türkiye’s first example of an institutionalized Alevi party, has strongly avoided conflict with the state’s founding official ideology (unlike Islamist and Kurdish structures). Three main sub-findings have emerged at this point: First, there is an incompatibility and dissonance between Alevi faith values and the arguments Alevis use in their politicization (such as the incompatibility of traditional Alevi teachings with the left-wing’s understanding of class, or the ideological and religious conflict between Alevi dedes with strong rural ties and urban Alevi youth). Second, (T)BP leaders and politicians have pursued a covert policy of disseminating Alevis’ political expectations without emphasizing their Alevi identity. Third, the (T)BP experience has failed to sustain a peripheral movement opposed to the center. Thus, this research has attempted to reveal the fundamental basis for the failure of Alevism to institutionalize at the level of a political party in Türkiye.
Selçuk Kahraman (Thu,) studied this question.