Suchergebnisse

AbstractIn a democracy it is through the process of voting that people find an opportunity to register their likes and dislikes of domestic and foreign policy decisions most effectively. In Turkey, the recent national elections on 22 July 2007 provided an opportunity to observe the nexus between voters' choices and foreign policy issues. Questions pertaining to problems facing the country and the campaign issues fail to give any clue as to whether people paid attention to foreign policy in making their choices among the political parties of the country. However, a closer examination of the factors determining the vote indicates that, although party identification and satisfaction with the performance of the economy and the expectations of the government in managing the economy played major roles, attitudes towards the European Union (EU), nationalism, and globalization closely followed in magnitude those two factors in determining the voters' party preferences across the left-right spectrum. While AKP supporters had the most favorable attitude towards the EU, MHP supporters appeared highly nationalistic, and CHP voters seemed most influenced by positive orientations to openness to the world.

Türkiye'de demokrasinin pekişmesinde (consolidation) karşılaşılan sorunların siyasal kültürden kaynaklanan temellieri olup olmadığını araştıran, bu amaçla kişisel güven, dernekleşme, toplumsal hoşgörü, siyasal etkinlik duygusu ve siyasal katılma eğilimlerinin çizdiği görüntüyü saha araştırmalarından derlenen verilerle irdeleyen bir çalışmadır.

The Turkish party system experienced a serious blow in the early 1980s, when the military government in power closed down all the former legal political parties. Therefore, little evidence of strong psychological ties between voters and the political parties they supported at the polls is expected. This essay draws upon existing literature on voting behavior to develop four hypotheses to explain partisan affiliations of Turkish voters. Each of the hypotheses is then put to empirical tests, using data collected by means of a nationally representative survey. The four independent variables used in the four hypotheses are the role of parents' party identification (socialization), ideological orientations, economic expectations, and the ethnic identities of voters. Socialization emerges as a major determinant of partisan affiliation with the relatively older Republican People's Party (CHP) and Nationalist Action Party (MHP), while identifiers with the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) take few cues from their parents and pay more attention to the economic performance of that party in government. Ideology seems to play a major role in determining the psychological orientations of those who feel attached to the CHP versus the AKP or the MHP but little role in differentiating AKP from MHP voters. Ethnicity only plays a role in partisan affiliation with the MHP.

An overview of general elections and the party system from the beginning of multi-party politics in Turkey would indicate a proclivity towards an increasing number of major parties coupled with fragmentation of the party system. The predominant party system of the 1950s favored stability over representativeness (see Table 1). The 1961 Constitution established new electoral rules and a liberal political regime, which provided for more opportunity for representativeness. The 1965 and 1969 elections produced party governments, with a proportional representation formula that wasted almost no votes; even those parties with the smallest number of followers won some seats in the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) (see Table 1). For a while in the 1960s Turkey therefore appeared to have discovered the optimal ground of converging stable governments with consummate representativeness. The party governments of the 1960s, however, gave way to the unstable coalition governments of the 1970s, which coincided with a wave of terror and political instability. Coalition governments came to be equated with political instability and terror in the minds of not only the masses, but also the most powerful political forces in the country.

Introduction: The state, the party system and the citizens -- "Center-periphery" versus the Kulturkampf? -- Social cleavages and economic transformation in Turkey -- Center-periphery within the electorate -- The Turkish electorate and the economy : bringing the AKP to power -- Party choice during the AKP era, 2002-2015 -- Ethnicity and religion in Turkish voting behavior -- Riding the electoral roller coaster : party choice in Turkey, 2002-2015 -- Sliding out of democratization -- The end of center-periphery political confrontation : the establishment and prospects of a hegemonic one-party system in Turkey.

This book analyzes the development and impact of conservatism on Turkish politics in the post-Cold War era. Exploring the impact of international system change on Turkey over the course of recent events, this book covers the emerging tension and stress in Turkey's political culture, economy, and democratic institutions

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