Özal’s Worldview and the Turkish-Islamic Synthesis

Abstract

Abstract Turgut Özal (1927–1993), served as Turkey’s prime minister (1983–1989) and president (1989–1993). His tenure marked the dismantling of the statist economy through sweeping neoliberal reforms that integrated Turkey into global markets and empowered a new conservative business class, the “Anatolian Tigers.” At the same time, Özal normalized corruption, nepotism, and patronage, blurring the line between piety and profiteering. A devout Muslim affiliated with the Naqshbandi order, Özal sought to harmonize Islam with modernity, blending market capitalism with religious morality and Ottoman nostalgia. His worldview combined admiration for Abdülhamid II, technocratic pragmatism, and anti-Kemalist revisionism, and it foreshadowed many of the ideological and institutional dilemmas of contemporary Turkey. Özal was also central to the consolidation of the Turkish-Islamic Synthesis (TIS), a post-1980 state ideology that fused Sunni Islam with Turkish nationalism. Through education, cultural policy, and the expanded role of the DRA (Diyanet İşleri Başkanlığı), the TIS redefined national identity while marginalizing Alevis, Kurds, and secular citizens. Özal’s governance thus recast religion as both a political resource and a social adhesive, but at the cost of institutional erosion and greater polarization. On the Kurdish issue, he oscillated between coercion and reform. While initially supporting militarized strategies like the village guard system and emergency rule (OHAL), he later indicated a move toward cultural recognition and political solutions, using the conflict to reduce military control. Özal’s legacy is therefore mixed: he modernized Turkey’s economy and brought religion into public life, but also fostered corruption, weakened institutions, and created the path for Erdoğan’s authoritarian populism.

The authors' abstract, as published at the source., 2026 · DOI ↗