Ali Carkoglu ‘Voting Behavior’
Carkoglu’s article deal with the issue of the analysis of the Turkish electoral policy as well as the mentality of the voters. The author’s position consists in the statement that this matter has been always tough to be properly explored, as there were always barriers for the creation of the rational and strategic voting process. The barriers have been usually caused by the following factors: weak foundation of Turkish democracy and constant military interventions; absence of rational-choice approaches; the analysis of this issue was always limited, as the scholars often lacked appropriate data so as to deal with this matter (Carkoglu, p.160).
Ali Carkoglu ‘Ideology or Economic Pragmatism?: Profiling Turkish Voters in 2007’
This research is an organic continuation of the previous studies of Carkoglu. However, this one has been targeted at the elections in 2007, in particular at the consequences of these elections in context of the factors which stimulated people to vote in certain way. The research has shown that certain core principles of the leading party AKP can be defined; the former are the basis for their support and they are nowadays limited to so-called economic conditions and favorable economic performance which can be more generally called economic pragmatism (Carkoglu, p.340). However, AKP does not constitute its policy on certain ideological pillars which could have benefited it, in case of economic recession which is likely to occur nowadays.
Among the phenomena which took place in Turkey, the issue of gaining popularity of pro-Islamist tradition deserves attention. The accent on Islamist theses is combined with rapid role of the peripheral forces which are thought to constitute the electorate of the ruling party (Carkoglu, p.319). Additionally to the previously mentioned statement, there is also growth in a number of people supporting Sharia-based religious state (p.332). Nowadays, the number of such supporters has risen, as the new dangers at the international arena as well as at the internal consisting in fight against terrorism have appeared.
Reliance on the peripheral voters is contrary to the Ottoman tradition, when the center was considered to be the catalyst and determining force of the policy. Furthermore, the leading AKP relies on less educated circles of the society, whereas CHP supposes to be supported by more educated voters. Thus, AKP’s success depends largely on the prospective economic policy and its consequences for the wide circles of society; otherwise, it is likely that other parties could raise their popularity and, consequently, obtain state’s power.
Ersin Kalaycioglu ‘Elections and Party Preferences in Turkey: Changes and Continuities in the 1990s’
Supporting the general concept of ‘center-periphery’ which explains the state of the electoral affairs well, Kalaycioglu concludes that the choice of the voters in terms of certain parties had in part reflected their identification with the belief system and interests of the center or of the periphery (Kalayciouglu, p.406).
The previously discussed religiosity and formal education which to some extent divide two opposite parties during the elections are considered to be the major factors determining party preferences (Kalayciouglu, p.422). Thus, all the studies conducted regarding the Turkish electoral behavior have proven the thesis that the former is usually determined by the party preferences, but not by the rational proposals of the politicians in terms of the state’s policy.
Works cited
Heper, Metin and Sayan, Sabri. The Routledge Handbook of Modern Turkey. New York: Routledge, 2008.
