Scholarly Publications - Political Science and Public Administration

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://hdl.handle.net/11693/115517

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Browsing Scholarly Publications - Political Science and Public Administration by Author "Açıkgöz, Ali"

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    Party change and cleavage shifting in the global South: the case of Ecevit’s CHP in Turkey
    (Routledge, 2023-04-02) Uğur-Çınar, Meral; Açıkgöz, Ali; Esen, B.
    This article explores the prospects of and limits to political party change through a case study of the Republican People’s Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, CHP) under the leadership of Bülent Ecevit in the 1960s and 1970s. We demonstrate how the CHP, via a new generation of politicians led by Ecevit, gradually transformed its ideological programme and cadres in an effort to turn into a social democratic mass party, thereby maximizing its voter base in the 1973 and 1977 elections against the currents of the extant socio-political faultlines of Turkish politics. We claim that the potential for party change depends on the interplay between three factors: political entrepreneurs, the prevailing preferences and structures of a society, and the extant institutional setup. We conclude by discussing the implications of the findings for the prospects of party change as well as for the present and future trajectory of the CHP.
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    Social Democracy in Turkey: Global Questions, Local Answers
    (Routledge, 2023-04-25) Çınar, Meral Uğur; Açıkgöz, Ali
    This article assesses the prospects of social democracy in Turkey in light of two prominent debates regarding social democracy: the challenge of populism and the proper balance between a politics of redistribution and a politics of recognition. By focusing on the Republican People’s Party (CHP), it shows that the main problem the party faces is to find ways of addressing the issues of recognition and redistribution. Success in addressing these issues would provide an effective alternative to the populist agenda of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and build channels for participatory democracy and institutions of accountability. We argue that social democracy, with its legacy of democratic rule and institutions, can serve as a significant anchoring point in such an effort. We point out, however, why current social, institutional, political, and cultural factors make the CHP’s task of pursuing a social democratic agenda in Turkey particularly difficult.
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    Turkey’s republican people’s party (CHP): a longue durée analysis
    (Routledge, 2022-09-14) Çınar, K.; Uğur-Çınar, Meral; Açıkgöz, Ali
    This article employs regressive and spatial analyses to understand the correlates of the CHP’s electoral support from the first competitive elections in 1950 to the present. We find that despite some continuities in its constituency, the CHP’s voter base has changed significantly with regards to key political and social dynamics such as the Kurdish vote, effective number of parties, and urbanization. The findings give credence to the role of political leadership as well as the evolutionary capability of the party, both of which can have important implications regarding the future electoral trajectory of the party and of Turkey’s political regime.