ABSTRACT
The 1990s gave witness to an upsurge of extreme right-wing parties throughout Western Europe. In a few cases these parties even became partners in coalition governments and thus had far-reaching influence in their respective countries. This remarkable development raised concerns about the functioning of democracy in Western Europe and, as a result of this, studies on extreme right-wing parties intensified and a heated debate on both defining the phenomenon and locating these movements on the political spectrum emerged. Akin to its European counterparts, the Turkish extreme right, represented by the Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi (MHP, Nationalist Action Party), steadily increased its electoral support and, for the first time since the 1980 military intervention, surpassed the national threshold, won representation in the Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi (TBMM, Turkish Grand National Assembly) and became a coalition partner in the 57th government of Turkey. Because of its non-democratic and violent past, this development raised serious concerns among many about the functioning, and further enhancement, of democracy in Turkey.
