Progressive Republican Party (1924-1925)

The Progressive Republican Party (TCF) is the first independent opposition party initiative of Turkish political life. The form of the struggle for power during the founding period of the Republic is most clearly observed in the existence of this opposition party. Trying to be an opposition against and despite a leader whose importance and respect cannot be discussed due to his role in the war, explaining his own thoughts, political perspective and making propaganda for this, and ultimately engaging in a struggle to obtain political power... The Progressive Republican Party is a method of political struggle that is considered natural today. While taking the steps that can be considered as , the existence of the party was perceived by the hegemonic political elite as an initiative and conspiracy of a treason network. The political power of that period, and especially Mustafa Kemal, from the very beginning of the process, preferred to perceive such an opposition party as the initiative of a group with secret ambitions - that is, a group of mischief that included former Unionists, army commanders, supporters of the sultan and the caliphate. On the road to political cleansing initiated by the Izmir Assassination case, the TCF experience, on the one hand, showed who was in control of the political sphere, and on the other hand, offered the government the opportunity to select and eliminate its political "adversaries".
"Observers of the time commented on the tendency of CHF politicians and bureaucrats to equate opposition to the government party with opposition to the state and to see every member of the opposition as an enemy of the state. They denied the existence of common ground between the main parties, even when there were not huge gaps in terms of their programs." "The tendency to accuse the opposition as traitors should be considered one of the main sources of the instability of the Turkish political system to date."
Erik Jan Zürcher



Number of Pages: 216

Year of Printing: 2003


Language: Turkish
Publisher: Iletisim Publishing

Number of Pages: 216

First Printing Year: 203

Language Turkish