Ankara’s recent illiberal turn has led many to question the compatibility of Islamism and liberalism in Turkey. Yet, a closer reading of the country’s two-century journey across political modernity reveals a recurring Islamo-liberal alliance which, for better or for worse, has driven major outcomes from late Ottoman modernization and the 20th century transition to multi-party politics to Turkey’s EU oriented liberalization in the 2000s. The talk will examine when and why the alliance coalesces—and collapses—with what implications for democracy in Muslim-majority polities like Turkey.