Over the last years, the so-called ‘third wave of autocratization’ has seized many democracies across the globe (Lührmann and Lindberg 2019). In this third wave, ‘autocratization’ has proceeded gradually over several election cycles with the support of large electoral majorities. Svolik (2019) and others highlight that autocratization through elections is more likely in fragmented and politically polarized societies. In polarized societies, even voters who in principle value democratic principles are more willing to sacrifice these principles for the sake of electoral victories of politicians and parties who champion their interests (Svolik 2019). Partisanship is rarely based on ideology, but on the strong and affective social identification of the electorate with the party (Iyengar et al. 2012). Over its 20 years of rule, the AKP (Justice and Development Party) in Turkey has been able to build a loyal and relatively stable constituency. This paper argues that although the control of media and the expectation of materialistic rewards in return for loyalty have certainly played a major role in the AKP’s continuous electoral wins, AKP partisanship often goes beyond that. It has entailed the notion of belonging to a moral community. This community is largely tied together through conservative values, but also through the economic interests and the conviction of being part of a power bloc. The conception of a moral, value-based community assumes unnegotiable and overall accepted community values which are defined and re-defined by the party. This approach helps include those who are socialised in these values or have successfully adopted them, and exclude those who are considered to be outside the “moral”, “authentic” community. While religious rhetoric and symbols replace clear ideological conceptions, and are necessary identifiers to reinforce social identity, at the same time it also undermines religion. The paper applies social identity theory. It focuses on the question how partizsanship and social identity have merged with the notion of a moral community. It also addresses the question how the in-group identity has been affected by economic downturn and political decline and analyses the long-term effects on political competition in Turkey and beyond.