ABSTRACT
This chapter incorporates the history and the role of social cleavages into the study of hegemonic parties. It specifically analyzes the social cleavages upon which the AKP has built its hegemony, specifically secular-religious cleavage, which overlaps with the center-periphery cleavage in Turkey. These two overlapping cleavages and the political articulation of the AKP politicians to mobilize masses by politicizing these cleavages have played a crucial role in the creation of the AKP hegemony. As compared to other comparative cases such as United Russia in Russia and Kuomintang in Taiwan, both of which utilized a catch-all strategy with low ideological emphasis and broader electoral appeal, the AKP has chosen to employ a social-cleavage-dependent political strategy to build its hegemony. The chapter offers both qualitative and quantitative evidence regarding the role of social cleavages in the emergence of hegemonic parties.
