Suchergebnisse

The study of party politics in Turkey / Sabri Sayari -- Professionalization of political parties -- Party membership and political participation in Turkey / Gülgün Erdogan Tosun, Tanju Tosun and Yusuf Can GÖkmen -- Changing media, party campaign strategies, and the politics of Turkish elections in comparative perspective / F. Michael Wuthrich -- Financing political parties and electoral campaigns in Turkey / Ömer Faruk Gençkaya -- Assessing the level of party cartelization in contemporary Turkey / Pelin Ayan Musil -- Intra-party politics and political competition -- Factional conflicts and party splits in Turkey / Özhan Demirkol -- Municipal control as incumbency advantage ; an analysis of the AKP era / Özge Kemahlioglu and Elif Özdemir -- Social profiles of local party elites in Turkey / Gülnur Kocapinar -- Inter-party relations and the party system -- Theories of coalition government formation and party politics in Turkey / Arda C. Kumbaracibasi -- Social conflicts and politicized cleavages in Turkey / Hasret Dikici Bilgin -- Political perceptions of party voters and members in Turkey / Yüksel Alper Ecevit and Ödül Celep -- Party system institutionalization and democratic consolidation : the case of Turkey / Sebnem Yardimci-Geyikçi.

This chapter explores whether and how the incumbent party in Turkey benefits electorally from its partisan ties at the sub-national level. This is an especially important question given the dominance of the nationally ruling party, Justice and Development Party, in Turkish electoral politics and growing concerns about the fairness of elections due to the Adalet ve Kalkinma Partisi (AKP) incumbency advantage. The chapter investigates under what conditions and how national incumbent parties benefit electorally from their partisan ties with sub-national governments. It discusses the prevalence of patronage and clientelism referred to by many scholars, who have tried to understand the mechanisms of patron–client relationships in Turkey and their consequences for the party system, the representation of citizen interests, governability and democratic accountability. The chapter provides information about Turkish local governments and their budgetary opportunities, before discussing the possibilities for political manipulation that arise from intergovernmental fiscal ties. It argues that increased municipality healthcare spending brings votes for the AKP nationally.