Abstract :
The election results on November 3, 2002, which brought the Justice and Development Party
into power, shocked many, but for varying reasons. Afterwards, some became more hopeful
about future of their country, while others became even more doubtful and anxious, since for
them the “republican regime” came under threat. These opposing responses, along with the
perceptions that fueled them, neatly describe the two very different worlds that currently exist
within Turkish society, and so it is important to think through many of the contested issues
that have arisen as a result of these shifting political winds.
