ABSTRACT
Erdogan touted principles of honesty, ethics, and virtue in his 1994 race for mayor of Istanbul. He defeated an incumbent of the “Republican People’s Party (CHP) incumbent who was mired in allegations of corruption. In 2002, the AKP ran on a platform of clean and honest government. The AKP rose in response to Turkey’s legacy of corruption. Erdogan appealed to voters by declaring war on the Three Ys: Yolsuzluk (corruption), Yasaklar (prohibitions), and Yoksulluk (poverty). The concept of clean and effective government was new in Turkish politics.
