Party splits in Turkish party system: the case of centre-right parties

Abstract

This study offers the first systematic analysis of party splits in Turkish electoral politics. It first explores party splits from major parties since the late 1940s before focusing on splits from three Turkish centre-right parties in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1990s. This article finds no detectable patterns between the entry costs measured by disproportionality, and the occurrence of party splits in Turkey. Instead, it argues that perceived demand for new parties and internal party dynamics, namely changes in party ideology and leadership consolidation, push the dissident factions out of the party and have a decisive influence over their decision to establish a new party. The article concludes with a note on the implications of this finding for contemporary Turkish party politics. © 2015, Taylor & Francis.