ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I move from the AKP’s political and electoral environment to the party’s internal organization. Based on a considerable amount of primary material from the party itself, it will be demonstrated that the AKP is a modern, relatively open, and well-organized party, especially if compared to its main competitors. Given its organizational “youth,” this is truly remarkable and suggests – at least at first glance – that it might already have a relatively high level of “systemness,” in Panebianco’s (1988) terminology. One of the key questions arising from this observation is how this new party could have moved so quickly from genesis towards maturity as far as its organization is concerned. Nevertheless, the analysis will also demonstrate that its lack of internal democracy and leadership accountability – not untypical for Turkish political parties in general – may create longerterm problems for its institutionalization and survival. Clearly, lack of leadership accountability and strong centralization add to the party’s dilemma in the larger framework. Mainly, centralization represents tighter control over the party factions and activists. It aims to contain more radical perspectives and in so doing allow the party to communicate with a wider audience in its environment. In return, this cripples the intra-party voice and its functioning.
