The AK Party between charisma and asabiyyah

To dare to change and to bring about change, and not merely in appearance but in what truly needs to change... The props, the foundations, the real structure of a crooked order... This is something that demands truly great courage.

Yesterday, the AK Parti held its 3rd Extraordinary Congress in a truly extraordinary atmosphere, and took one more step determined to change all of Turkey's political traditions, habits and established structure. It reunited its founding chairman, whom it had sent off to the presidency 998 days ago, its leader, with his own passion, his own party.

Although it appears on the surface to be an arrangement made for Erdoğan, this step has brought about a very important change in a system that is open to the tutelage of actors who draw their power not from the people but from their oligarchic relations and gains.

In doing so, changing the established political habitus from which these actors draw their power was of course the hardest part.

Under Erdoğan's leadership the AK Parti dared to change these habitus, and it succeeded. There is no doubt that the change Erdoğan has made through the AK Parti will open an entirely new page in Turkey's political traditions, and this page will be offered as a gift to a more governable, stronger Turkey.

In essence, this page is consistent with the series of reforms the AK Parti has brought to Turkey's political life since the day it came to power, 3 November 2002, and is a continuation of that series of reforms. In fact, whether you look at it from the standpoint of a sociology of charisma, from the standpoint of Ibn Khaldun's theory of Asabiyyah, or from the standpoint of the inevitable ebb and flow of political movements in the world, it is hard to explain how the AK Parti, as a political movement, keeps up the enthusiasm of its first years on this path of change.

Charismatic movements become routinized after a certain time, their followers begin to show signs of fatigue, they stagnate, and they gradually establish structures resembling the oligarchic structures they replaced.

Movements with asabiyyah, that is, a high degree of group loyalty or consciousness of a cause, likewise adopt, after a while, the deadly habits of the established societies whose place they have taken, and they too head toward the same fate.

In the AK Parti, however, there is no sign of routinization in the charisma of its founding leader.

On 15 July its followers had only just shown, under his leadership, a deathless devotion to the cause they believe in. With his return to the Party, the expectation of a new charismatic excitement in the AK Parti has reached its peak. As the inevitable outcome of all charismatic movements, until routinization sets in, it appears that there are many more reforms the AK Parti will carry out in the country, and with the great reform realized today a new start has been given.

Group and cause loyalty in the AK Parti, that is, "asabiyyah" in Ibn Khaldun's term, is still fully alive.

What keeps it alive is again the meaning Erdoğan attributes to this cause: a consciousness and practice focused on the hereafter, which sees the grave as a reality of this life, and therefore sees arrogance as the true death of this cause, and which still actually lives humility. "We have never forgotten that this world is transient and that our most faithful beloved is the earth," he said, continuing his speech at the Congress.

Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, who spoke before him and who embodied the concept of loyalty with the magnificent role he played in the recent period, likewise defined "being an AK Partisan" as "being free of arrogance, having humility."

Indeed, up to now both have displayed their political practice without deviating a millimeter from this humane stance.

For that reason, both the expected lifespan of routinization for the movement's charisma and the time it would take for its asabiyyah to be exhausted likewise show an exceptional character.

In this way the AK Parti keeps surpassing itself, almost as if competing with itself.

For that reason the AK Parti keeps up its exceptional character not only in Turkey's history but also in all of Europe, indeed in the world, as a party that has managed to remain in power while increasing its votes in so many elections in a row.

Moreover, the AK Parti does all this while struggling against the coup, terror and intrigue attempts of extremely vigorous forces constantly mobilized against it. Perhaps the struggle against these forces even increases this determination to change. Indeed, this struggle serves to keep alive the AK Parti's dynamism, its asabiyyah and its charismatic energy.

In the new period the AK Parti may have to continue this struggle with an even higher desire for change for the country, and therefore with a still wider horizon of change.

It will try as far as possible to respond to the people's demands for security, stability and prosperity, but at the same time there is a Turkey that is growing and aspires to grow.

For a leadership that will respond to these demands for growth, one thing Turkey lacked was this dual-headedness in its constitution. It has now been removed.

From here on, what remains is unity, solidarity, sincerity, perseverance and resolve.