Revisiting the Concept of Moderation in the Age of Populism: the ak p case of Turkey Pelin Ayan Musil Anglo-American University, Prague, Czech Republic pelin.ayan@aauni.edu Abstract This article presents the case of Turkey within the framework of this special issue entitled “On Islamist Parties and the Inclusion-Moderation Hypothesis”. I argue that rather than a distinction between the concepts of ”tactical” and “ideological” moderation that the literature talks about, a distinction between the concepts of an “inclusionary-populist” and “moderate Islamist” party could provide a more useful insight over the role of Islamist and post-Islamist parties in democratization and de-democratization processes. Through a re-analysis of the secondary literature and a content analysis of 196 newspaper columns written by three pro-democracy intellectuals, I label the akp’s transition period from moderate-Islamism toward authoritarianism as its inclusionary populist phase. I show that in contexts marked by deep ideological divisions and unconsolidated democratic institutions, a shift in party identity from moderate-Islamism toward inclusionary populism can be taken as the early signal of an unfolding process of autocratization. Keywords Islamist party moderation – populism – democratization – autocratization – Turkey – the akp Introduction The Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, or “ akp”) in Turkey has important insights to offer on the limits of the concept of Islamist party moderation. It experienced both a moderation and de-moderation AQ1 © koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2021 | doi:10.1163/18763375-13031260 Middle East Law and Governance XX (2021) 1-27