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The Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (AKP) which has a tendency towards Islam, but secular concurrently raises a question: what is the identity of the AKP? To date, this question is still being debated although generally, AKP has frequently been denoted as a party with an Islamic aspiration. Hence, this paper aims to revisit the identity of the AKP based on the framework of Islamic political movement. This paper fully adopted library research by examining sources related to the scope of the discussion. Ideologically, AKP makes conservative democracy as its ideology by harmonizing between conservative and liberal democratic values. The party also adheres to the secularism discourse although it meets almost all the characteristics of Islamic political movement for the Turkish context. Besides, it was found that the AKP has sided to religious interests in few issues. At the same time, AKP also has been resisted by military as the guardian of secular principle. This paper argues that the AKP is a party of its own identity, where it upholds the liberal version of secularism and tends to create an accommodative atmosphere for free religious practice. Finally, this paper offers some recommendations that can be considered for future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of secularization implemented in Turkey has affected the constitution of the country. Turkey’s secular constitution acts as a social contract that restricted the freedom of an individual, including to practice religion. The emergence of the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP) with conservative democracy discourse tends to create a wider space of liberty, including religious freedom. Thus, this article aims to analyze the democratization process in Turkey practiced by the AKP through the amendment of the constitution in 2010. Furthermore, it analyzed the Constitution of Turkey as the primary source of this study by examining the differences pre and post of its amendment in 2010. Besides, the process of the constitutional amendment is also analyzed thoroughly. Overall, the 2010 constitutional amendment contributed to the process of democratization in Turkey, where it has affected the rights of the people, the military, and judiciary which have been given extensive jurisdiction. As a secular country, the process of democratization in Turkey was an effective step for freedom of religious practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]