The AKP’s Approach toward Non-Muslim Minorities

Abstract

Since the Justice and Development Party (the AKP) came to power, it has expanded the rights of non-Muslim minorities. In order to provide a comprehensive theoretical perspective of the AKP’s policies toward non-Muslim minorities, this article utilizes constructivist and rationalist insights (the logic of appropriateness and the logic of consequences, respectively). This article argues that the AKP’s policies toward non-Muslim minorities are linked to its normative commitment to religious freedom. In addition, by drawing upon the literature of political marketing, this article argues that the AKP’s policies toward non-Muslim minorities can be analyzed as a strategy to expand its voter base.