This chapter examines the AKP’s rise to power and the decline of democracy during its rule. Even though it was a new party, the AKP had been preparing to win elections from within the Islamic movement for a number of years. The weaknesses of the secular elites ultimately precipitated its ascent to power. During the unstable coalition years of the 1990s, followed by the severe economic crisis in 2001, secular elites, including those in the military, politics, and the judiciary, attempted to repress the Islamist opposition. This had a boomerang effect that resulted in the empowerment of the AKP in a context of seemingly hegemonic secularism. The party came to power through democratic elections in 2002, with the promise of democratizing the polity, expanding freedoms for all, and pursuing Western-oriented goals of Republican modernization.