ABSTRACT
The period between 2005 and 2007 represents a transition period from the trigger of push to arising pull. The period endured a series of both European Union (EU)-related and domestic crises leading to questioning legitimacy of the Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi (AKP) regarding its reforms and most importantly its rule. In spite of the 2005 EU decision to launch accession negotiations with Turkey that considerably strengthened the credibility of EU conditionality, developments following the decision dragged EU conditionality into a politicized, indecisive and less credible status. The AKP government was forced to call early parliamentary elections in 2007, facing enormous pressure from various fronts. Contributing of popular support to the AKP exemplifying some of minority votes in the elections, the Kurdish vote to the party in the elections is critical. The shift in the AKP’s position from an exclusive focus on the EU accession process to the ‘domestic’ was best reflected in its discourse.
