“There’s a Difference” in Millî Görüş: On the Felicity Party and the re-Welfare Party Programmes

Abstract

A comparative analysis of the ideological approaches and goals of the Felicity Party and the re-Welfare Party, which claim to be the “true,” “sole,” and “real” representatives of the Millî Görüş (National Vision), was conducted through their party programs to provide a clear framework. These analyses revealed several similarities and differences between the two political parties. Both parties exhibited significant similarities, particularly regarding the traditional rhetoric and slogans of the Millî Görüş. In this regard, both parties shared considerable common ground in their foreign policy commitment to the D-8 (Organization for Economic Cooperation) principles and their opposition to the EU. However, a significant divergence was observed in terms of implementing their programmatic objectives in domestic politics and in terms of the roles they assigned to democracy. In this divergence, the Felicity Party positioned itself in a more democratic-conservative political position, while the re-Welfare Party positioned itself in a more Islamist-conservative political position. The Felicity Party developed a significantly stronger rhetoric toward democracy than the re-Welfare Party. The re-Welfare Party, also produced more concrete approaches to the judiciary, bureaucracy and executive.