Hatıratlar Işığında Demokrat Parti’nin Kuruluş Süreci

Abstract

This study aims to examine the establishment process of the Democrat Party, which was founded in 1946 alongside the transition to a multi-party system in Turkey after World War II and remained in power for ten years between 1950 and 1960, based on memoirs. It is observed that the establishment of the Democrat Party has not been addressed in a narrative that focuses on memoirs and firsthand accounts of the period. For this reason, the study analyzes the process through testimonies from both inside and outside the party, as well as through the perspectives of leading journalists of the period who either supported or contradicted each other, and attempts to explain the subject through other sources. A comparative method has been followed in the use of memoirs. The time frame covers the period from World War II in Turkey to the official establishment of the Democrat Party on January 7, 1946. Based on the testimonies of writers of the period, the issue of the establishment of the Democrat Party was examined in the context of the approach of National Leader İsmet İnönü to Turkey's transition to a multiparty system and whether the Quarted (the Four) had attempted to establish a new party prior to the Quarted Motion. The conclusion reached is that both internal and external factors played a role in Turkey's transition to a multi-party system, but it was the internal factors that determined the path to be followed in the direction in which external factors were pushing Turkey. İsmet İnönü did not play a primary or leading role in the establishment of a new opposition party, but the formation of the new party came about as a result of dissatisfaction within the party and among the people, which found an organized platform in the government's policy choices. On the other hand, the idea of establishing a new opposition party in the mind of Quarted Motion was finalized after the rejection of their offer to the Parliamentary Group. Previous initiatives were limited to researching whether the political context was suitable to the establishment of a new opposition party and attempting to establish the necessary connections for the party's possible establishment.