Although the literature on party politics has significantly advanced both methodologically and theoretically in recent years, the study of political parties in Turkey has been noticeably disconnected and lacking from such conversations.
This book evaluates well-established theories and trends in existing party politics literature and relates them to the case of Turkey. It explores fundamental questions such as: Who controls party organizations and how does the locus of control change over time? What kinds of power struggles are observed inside a party and between whom? What do the present and past records of party membership imply for party organizations? What role do grassroots activists play in local and national politics? How do the ideological orientations of party members differ from party leaders and other voters? What types of social cleavages shape political parties and how do they change over time? What constitutes the relationship between the state and parties today? Who finances political parties and what does this imply about the quality of democracy? How and why do party systems change?
The various chapters show that party politics in the Turkish context is significantly different to Western and new democracies. By highlighting the significant contribution the Turkish case can make to existing conceptual frameworks and theories, this book will be a valuable resource for anyone studying political parties, party systems and comparative politics, as well as Turkish politics.
Table of Contents:
Introduction, Pelin Ayan Musil & Özhan Demirkol 1. The Study of Party Politics in Turkey, Sabri Sayari Part I: Professionalization of Political Parties 2. Party Membership and Political Participation in Turkey, Gülgün Erdoğan Tosun, Tanju Tosun and Yusuf Can Gökmen 3. Changing Media, Party Campaign Strategies, and the Politics of Turkish Elections in Comparative Perspective, F. Michael Wuthrich 4. Financing Political Parties and Electoral Campaigns in Turkey, Ömer Faruk Gençkaya 5. Assessing the Level of Party Cartelization in Contemporary Turkey, Pelin Ayan Musil Part II: Intra-Party Politics and Political Competition 6. Factional Conflicts and Party Splits in Turkey, Özhan Demirkol 7. Municipal Control as Incumbency Advantage: An Analysis of the AKP Era, Özge Kemahlıoğlu and Elif Özdemir 8. Social Profiles of Local Party Elites in Turkey, Gülnur Kocapınar 9. Theories of Coalition Government Formation and Party Politics in Turkey, Arda C. Kumbaracıbaşı 10. Social Conflicts and Politicized Cleavages in Turkey, Hasret Dikici Bilgin 11. Political Perceptions of Party Voters and Members in Turkey, Yüksel Alper Ecevit and Ödül Celep 12. Party System Institutionalization and Democratic Consolidation: The Case of Turkey, Şebnem Yardımcı-Geyikçi
About the Author :
Sabri Sayarı is Emeritus Professor of Political Science at Sabancı University in İstanbul, Turkey. He has published extensively on parties and party systems, political clientelism and patronage, and political violence.
Pelin Ayan Musil is Senior Lecturer of Politics at Anglo-American University and a Research Fellow at Jan Evangelista Purkyne University in the Czech Republic. Her research interests include political parties and democratization.
Özhan Demirkol is Assistant Professor at Ömer Halisdemir University in Niğde and visiting researcher at Leiden University, The Netherlands. His research interests include factionalism, new party formation, party system change, and party finance.
