Elections and Earthquakes: Quo Vadis Turkey
Elections and Earthquakes: Quo Vadis Turkey
Contributor(s): Nikos Christofis (Editor)
Subject(s): Politics / Political Sciences, Social Sciences, Geography, Regional studies
Published by: Transnational Press London
Keywords: Turkey; earthquake; elections; Erdoganism; authoritarianism; religion; youth activism
Summary/Abstract: Where does Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s resilience derive from? Why did he, and the AKP, win the double May 2023 elections again? How did the opposition perform? What were the opposition’s mistakes? How will domestic and foreign policy issues unfold after the elections?These are just a few of the questions the present collection tries to answer. Demonstrating how Turkey’s politics have developed the present volume brings together approaches from politics, sociology, and history, and sheds much-needed light on these crucial questions. They offer scholars and non-specialists alike a comprehensive overview of the implications of the recent elections in almost every aspect of Turkish society. Finally, the chapters that are hosted here provide informed deliberations about Turkey’s future."This collective volume sheds new light on the durability of the Erdoğan regime despite the heavy crises Turkey is going through, and more importantly, shows the limits of an opposition that is unable to propose a democratic transformation of the country, to become a credible alternative to it." - Prof. Hamit Bozarslan, EHESS, ParisThis timely collection features some of the sharpest voices in and on Turkey today, packaged in short, digestible chapters. Coverage includes the role of ideology, incumbent and opposition alliances, the economy, devastating earthquakes, minorities, youth, and relations with external actors like Greece and the European Union. The book will help students and experts alike to make sense of the multi-faceted causes and consequences of a milestone in Turkey's trajectory: 2023 elections and their implications for the country, its region, and the world. - Assoc. Prof. Nora Fisher Onar, University of San Francisco
- E-ISBN-13: 978-1-80135-266-6
- Print-ISBN-13: 978-1-80135-265-9
- Page Count: 227
- Publication Year: 2024
- Language: English
Before and After The 2023 (Double) May Elections: Quo Vadis Turkey?
Before and After The 2023 (Double) May Elections: Quo Vadis Turkey?
(Before and After The 2023 (Double) May Elections: Quo Vadis Turkey?)
- Author(s):Nikos Christofis
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Geography, Regional studies, Electoral systems, Environmental interactions
- Page Range:15-31
- No. of Pages:17
- Keywords:Elections; mediterranean politics; economic growth; Turkey; Turkish elections;
- Summary/Abstract:On 6 February 2023 a magnitude 7.8 earthquake occurred in southern Turkey near the northern border of Syria. This quake was followed approximately nine hours later by a magnitude 7.5 earthquake located around 95 kilometers to the southwest. The first earthquake was the most devastating to hit earthquake-prone Turkey in more than 20 years. It was centered near Gaziantep in south-central Turkey, home to thousands of Syrian refugees and the many humanitarian aid organizations also based there.
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Two Faces of Erdoğanism: Radical Conservatism and Vindictive Nationalism
Two Faces of Erdoğanism: Radical Conservatism and Vindictive Nationalism
(Two Faces of Erdoğanism: Radical Conservatism and Vindictive Nationalism)
- Author(s):Ahmet Insel
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Governance, Nationalism Studies
- Page Range:35-40
- No. of Pages:6
- Keywords:Two Faces; Erdoğanism; Radical; Conservatism; Vindictive; Nationalism;
- Summary/Abstract:The Turkish legislative and presidential elections of May 2023 took the form of a referendum and a plebiscite. They can be compared to a referendum because the electoral debates focused, among other things, on the continuation or not of an ad-hoc autocratic political system, “the governmental system of the Presidency of the Republic”, which was accepted by referendum in 2017. But these elections can also be regarded as a plebiscite because the voters were above all called upon to support or to put an end to Tayyip Erdoğan’s stay in power. Voting for Erdoğan's main rival meant not only wanting the end of Erdoğan's long reign but also the return to the rule of law, the immediate relaxation of the hyper-presidential system and eventually the return to a parliamentary regime.
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Grape Fruit Cocktail for Sweet Fruit Addicts: The Strategy of Nation Alliance
Grape Fruit Cocktail for Sweet Fruit Addicts: The Strategy of Nation Alliance
(Grape Fruit Cocktail for Sweet Fruit Addicts: The Strategy of Nation Alliance)
- Author(s):Ayşe Çavdar
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Governance, Electoral systems
- Page Range:41-59
- No. of Pages:19
- Keywords:Grape fruit cocktail; sweet fruit; addicts; strategy; nation alliance;
- Summary/Abstract:The presidential and parliamentary elections in Turkey that took place in May 2023 will be etched in history as a defining moment where everyone faced defeat. Among the defeated the biggest losers were the opposition political blocs. The election results revealed a notable decline in votes for the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP); however, Erdoğan maintained his popularity.
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The Fantasy of Opposition Coordination and Democracy Without Democrats 2.0: Turkey After The Elections
The Fantasy of Opposition Coordination and Democracy Without Democrats 2.0: Turkey After The Elections
(The Fantasy of Opposition Coordination and Democracy Without Democrats 2.0: Turkey After The Elections)
- Author(s):Kerem Öktem
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Government/Political systems, Electoral systems
- Page Range:61-69
- No. of Pages:9
- Keywords:Democracy; democrats; Turkey; elections;
- Summary/Abstract:The presidential and parliamentary elections of May 2023 were expected to mark Turkey’s long-awaited return to democracy. There were many indicators to justify this anticipation: Not only was the AKP government facing an accelerating economic and institutional crisis of its own making. The opposition appeared to be well-organized, audible, visible, and ready for the fight. The actual outcome however was one of utter devastation. President Erdoğan emerged victorious and enabled to tighten his grip over the state and society, even though his party, the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP) lost votes. But the elections also triggered a series of post-election scandals and controversies within the opposition and particularly the Republican People’s Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, CHP) that suggest that much of this buoyant mood in the opposition was, in fact, based on manipulations, dirty deals, and what increasingly appears to be a cynical party leader and a cabal of power-hungry cadres.
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The Opposition Alliance in Turkey’s 2023 Elections
The Opposition Alliance in Turkey’s 2023 Elections
(The Opposition Alliance in Turkey’s 2023 Elections)
- Author(s):Berk Esen
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Government/Political systems, Electoral systems
- Page Range:71-89
- No. of Pages:19
- Keywords:Opposition Alliance; Turkey; 2023; elections;
- Summary/Abstract:On 14 May Turkish voters headed to polls to elect a new president and parliament for a five-year term. For many observers of Turkish politics, the 2023 elections were the opposition's best chance to unseat President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan since his Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP) was first voted into power in the November 2002 elections. Weakened by high inflation, intra-party fissures, and devastating earthquakes in February, Erdoğan's ruling People Alliance met with a strong challenge by an opposition pre-electoral alliance that nominated a joint presidential candidate; achieved partial coordination in parliamentary lists and ran a joint campaign. An opposition alliance that fielded joint candidates in the 2019 local elections had already defeated the ruling People's Alliance candidates in several of the country's most populous metropolitan areas and set its eyes for the presidency since then.
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The 2023 Turkish Elections and The Kurds
The 2023 Turkish Elections and The Kurds
(The 2023 Turkish Elections and The Kurds)
- Author(s):Murat Issi
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Governance, Electoral systems, Inter-Ethnic Relations, Ethnic Minorities Studies
- Page Range:91-103
- No. of Pages:13
- Keywords:2023; Turkish elections; Kurds; Turkey;
- Summary/Abstract:The Turkish presidential and parliamentary elections of 2023 took place on 14 May 2023. Two weeks later the coalition led by Recep Tayyip Erdogan won the elections. In this paper we will try to emphasize on the positions and political situation of the Kurds in these strategic elections in Turkey where the legitimacy of the transformation of the regime from a parliamentary to a presidential political system was voted again (the first one was in 2017-2018).
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Victory, Even in Defeat: Ümit Özdağ, Sinan Oğan, and The Enduring Influence of The Turkish Far-Right
Victory, Even in Defeat: Ümit Özdağ, Sinan Oğan, and The Enduring Influence of The Turkish Far-Right
(Victory, Even in Defeat: Ümit Özdağ, Sinan Oğan, and The Enduring Influence of The Turkish Far-Right)
- Author(s):Reuben Silverman
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Government/Political systems, Electoral systems
- Page Range:105-116
- No. of Pages:12
- Keywords:Victory; Ümit Özdağ, Sinan Oğan; influence; Turkish; far-right;
- Summary/Abstract:The extreme nationalist ideology of the Turkish far-right has played a crucial role in Turkey’s politics for decades. In the 2023 elections, it proved to be decisive. This was a new development. For much of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's two decades in power, electoral success seemed to depend on the precise opposite: wooing Kurdish voters—or, at least, maintaining political conditions in which those voters would not see their interests as better served by alliance with his main opponents, the Republican People’s Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, CHP). Following Erdoğan’s 2018 reelection, however, the CHP successfully courted the main party representing Kurdish nationalism, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (Halkların Demokratik Partisi, HDP). It also gained support from those elements of the Turkish far-right that opposed Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP). Heading into the May 2023 elections, it appeared that the CHP had crafted a formidable electoral coalition.
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The Left in Turkey: Survival and Resistance Under Authoritarianism
The Left in Turkey: Survival and Resistance Under Authoritarianism
(The Left in Turkey: Survival and Resistance Under Authoritarianism)
- Author(s):Sevgi Adak
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Government/Political systems, Electoral systems
- Page Range:117-123
- No. of Pages:7
- Keywords:Turkey; survival; resistance; authoritarianism;
- Summary/Abstract:What is the future of the left in Turkey? Any answer to this question will have to begin by reckoning with the failure of the opposition, including the left, in the last general and presential elections held in May 2023. 21 years into its rule, the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP), and its leader, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, secured yet another victory in arguably one of the most critical elections in the history of the country. This was a victory that was hard to explain at first sight. Turkey has been going through a terrible economic crisis, inflation at 85% at the end of 2022 and the Turkish lira hitting record lows. The country had also faced a devastating earthquake just three months earlier, which revealed, beyond doubt, the extent of the decay and corruption in public services in the state’s inadequate response, and the human and environmental costs of AKP’s economic policies. There were thus the conditions for mobilizing a strong opposition, especially a leftist one, which was also potentially best suited to appeal to the vast majority of the society who had to face a severe cost of living crisis on a daily basis.
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Youth Politics and Activism in Turkey
Youth Politics and Activism in Turkey
(Youth Politics and Activism in Turkey)
- Author(s):Bahar Başer
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Civil Society, Government/Political systems, Electoral systems
- Page Range:127-137
- No. of Pages:11
- Keywords:Youth; politics; activism; Turkey;
- Summary/Abstract:In recent years, academics, politicians and experts have turned their attention to a specific group of voters: Turkey’s youth. Especially before the elections in 2023, media outlets and polling companies have started publishing reports that claim the young people’s vote would be a game-changer in the upcoming elections. It is Generation Z, the so-called millennials, who were supposed to make a political statement with their vote in the Turkish elections. They constituted a sizeable portion of the eligible voters (20%) and around half of them would be casting their votes for the first time. Half of Turkey’s population is under the age of 30. For most, Erdoğan is the only political leader they have ever lived under. They have no memory of the “old Turkey”, as we know it, since they were born into a period of transformation which led to the so-called New Turkey under the rule of the AKP and Erdoğan. In 2018, polls showed that 80% of young people had shown no interest in politics. Another poll by Turkey Report in 2022 showed that 58% of them would not join a political movement or party “as a way to try and build a better society to live in”. As “political participation is central to discussions of democracy and justice”, a young generation disinterested in politics could have dire consequences for Turkish society. Do the poll results indicate that these young people do not engage in politics at all? Or, as digital natives and children of the new millennium, do they use alternative means to express themselves outside the conventional methods of joining political parties and movements? Generation Y was considered apolitical, but it still participated in seminal events like the Gezi protests. Indeed, 31% of the protestors were aged between 21 and 25, and 51% were between the ages of 21 and 30. Moreover, 36.6 % of the participants were students. What has changed with Generation Z?
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Turkey’s Economic Growth and Environmental Degradation After The 2023 Elections: Is The Worst Yet to Come?
Turkey’s Economic Growth and Environmental Degradation After The 2023 Elections: Is The Worst Yet to Come?
(Turkey’s Economic Growth and Environmental Degradation After The 2023 Elections: Is The Worst Yet to Come?)
- Author(s):Aslı Sen Taşbaşı
- Language:English
- Subject(s):National Economy, Environmental and Energy policy, Electoral systems, Environmental interactions, Socio-Economic Research
- Page Range:139-155
- No. of Pages:17
- Keywords:Turkey; economic; growth; environmental; degradation; 2023; elections; worst;
- Summary/Abstract:Turkey is located in the Eastern Mediterranean, one of the regions that is anticipated to be most affected by the climate crisis, and is designated by the United Nations (UN) as being “vulnerable to the impacts of climate change”. The likelihood of rising average temperatures and decreasing rainfall across the country is already escalating inequality in a number of areas, including food security, rural development, access to clean water, and income distribution. This highlights how the climate crisis in Turkey is both an environmental and a development concern.
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Laissez-Faire Laissez-Mourir: Earthquake on 6 February 2023 and Capitalism That Discards and Disassociates Citizens in Erdogan’s Turkey
Laissez-Faire Laissez-Mourir: Earthquake on 6 February 2023 and Capitalism That Discards and Disassociates Citizens in Erdogan’s Turkey
(Laissez-Faire Laissez-Mourir: Earthquake on 6 February 2023 and Capitalism That Discards and Disassociates Citizens in Erdogan’s Turkey)
- Author(s):Kumru Toktamış
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Electoral systems, Economic development, Environmental interactions
- Page Range:157-170
- No. of Pages:14
- Keywords:Laissez-Faire; Laissez-Mourir; earthquake; february; capitalism; discards; disassociates; citizens; Erdogan; Turkey;
- Summary/Abstract:In 2023, the 6 February earthquakes in Turkey (and Syria) revealed the structural processes of a regime that treats its citizens as disposable and discardable. Paradoxically, this revelation did not find its political expression in the form of an opposition. Since the Enlightenment, many perspectives, including most recently the Discard Studies, seek to explain under what circumstances citizens become undervalued. It is not as simple, however, to explain how survivors of human-made disasters can disassociate themselves from causes and continue to support their own devaluation. The power of a hegemonic discourse that celebrates death as a desirable outcome provides a suitable language and understanding to maintain a political and economic regime that undermine the role of human agency in disaster and thus creates profitable opportunities to those who control power and resources.
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Disaster And Gender Inequality Kills, Not Earthquakes
Disaster And Gender Inequality Kills, Not Earthquakes
(Disaster And Gender Inequality Kills, Not Earthquakes)
- Author(s):Özgür Kaymak
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Gender Studies, Governance, Government/Political systems, Electoral systems, Social differentiation
- Page Range:171-182
- No. of Pages:12
- Keywords:Disaster; gender; inequality; kills; earthquakes;
- Summary/Abstract:After the February 6 earthquakes, thousands of people lost their lives, hundreds of thousands of buildings were destroyed and damaged, and millions of people were displaced. After the earthquakes, access to basic needs such as water, food and shelter could not be achieved for a long time as a result of inactivity in crisis management, inadequacy in search and rescue, and a chain of human and system errors. In the region affected by the earthquakes access to clean drinking water and epidemics continue to be problematic. Human rights violations accompanied the earthquakes, just as it has in previous natural disasters in Turkey as well as in different parts of the world. As long as disasters are defined as natural disasters that cannot be prevented like fate and their political aspects are not taken into account, the structural violence experienced by marginalized under risk groups in the country is aggravated. Human-induced trauma is the most severe form of trauma. In addition to the primary trauma caused by witnessing the disaster, the discrimination in the distribution of aid and access to shelter can cause a secondary trauma which can damage the collective ties and trust between the state and citizens. This situation can deepen the trauma by causing the survivors to feel worthless if they are constantly faced with discriminatory practices in the society.
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The 2023 Elections in Turkey and The Turkish-Greek Relations: Facts, Possibilities and Conclusions
The 2023 Elections in Turkey and The Turkish-Greek Relations: Facts, Possibilities and Conclusions
(The 2023 Elections in Turkey and The Turkish-Greek Relations: Facts, Possibilities and Conclusions)
- Author(s):Anthony Deriziotis
- Language:English
- Subject(s):International relations/trade, Electoral systems
- Page Range:185-196
- No. of Pages:12
- Keywords:2023; Elections; Turkey; Turkish-Greek; relations; facts; possibilities; conclusions;
- Summary/Abstract:Turkish-Greek relations are a complex, volatile and at times unpredictable security issue that has troubled the western alliance since the Cold War. The Cyprus issue, the treatment of the religious minorities and the disputes related to the law of the sea have played a dominant role in the formation of foreign policies and defence doctrines. The two countries have gone through crises, a few of which brought them to the brink of war, but have also experienced positive stints. In the post-Cold War years, relations resembled a roller-coaster ride, while the role of the EU towards the end of the 1990s was instrumental in the 1999 Greek-Turkish rapprochement. In 2004 it suffered two significant blows. First, was the rejection of the Annan Plan by the Greek-Cypriots in April and in December the Greek PM K. Karamanlis and his Turkish counterpart R.T. Erdoğan retracted on the Helsinki commitment to refer the outstanding maritime disputes to International Court of Justice. Despite these setbacks, the two countries enjoyed a rather calm 15 year long period, where trade and economic cooperation bloomed. Since 2019, relations rapidly deteriorated due to the complications from the discovery of natural gas fields in the east Mediterranean Sea and specifically those within Cyprus’s EEZ, the rise within AKP rhetoric of the “Blue Homeland” doctrine, which promotes views of Turkish naval hegemony, and the complications of the refugee and migration issue.
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Eu-Turkey Relations in a “Dangerous World”: Prospects and Challenges After The 2023 Elections in Turkey
Eu-Turkey Relations in a “Dangerous World”: Prospects and Challenges After The 2023 Elections in Turkey
(Eu-Turkey Relations in a “Dangerous World”: Prospects and Challenges After The 2023 Elections in Turkey)
- Author(s):Seda Gürkan
- Language:English
- Subject(s):Electoral systems, EU-Accession / EU-DEvelopment
- Page Range:197-207
- No. of Pages:11
- Keywords:Eu-Turkey; relations; Dangerous World; prospects; challenges; 2023; elections; Turkey;
- Summary/Abstract:Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 marked a tectonic shift in the European Union’s (EU) perception of the world. Although one might argue that the change in the EU’s security environment had started a decade ago with turbulences in its neighborhood, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia has brought the era of multilateralism to an end. While the world continues to be multipolar with competing power centers, international relations ceased to be multilateral in the aftermath of the invasion of a sovereign state (Ukraine) by a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council-UNSC (Russia). This fundamental change in international relations is also reflected in the EU’s Strategic Compass adopted in the shadow of the war in March 2022.
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Oscillating Between Securitization and Transactionalism: The Everlasting Drama of Turkey-West Relations
Oscillating Between Securitization and Transactionalism: The Everlasting Drama of Turkey-West Relations
(Oscillating Between Securitization and Transactionalism: The Everlasting Drama of Turkey-West Relations)
- Author(s):Alper Kaliber
- Language:English
- Subject(s):International relations/trade, Security and defense, Electoral systems
- Page Range:209-222
- No. of Pages:14
- Keywords:Oscillating; securitization; transactionalism; everlasting; drama; Turkey-West; relations;
- Summary/Abstract:Turkish foreign policy (TFP) has undergone dramatic changes throughout the decades of the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP) rule which has been continuing since November 2002. If one should cite a constant feature of TFP, it is its ever-increasing significance for the AKP leaders to promote their political agenda in Turkey’s domestic politics. Once a trademark of AKP’s anti-Kemalist upheaval against the civilian and military wings of the Turkish political establishment, foreign policy has then “become an integral part of the AKP’s conservative social engineering efforts and the main hallmark of its populism, with a range of significant political and economic implications”. While the latest general election in May 2023 paved the way for the third decade of the AKP rule, foreign policy has remained central to its agenda and discourse. The AKP leaders, and most notably President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, have deemed foreign policy as integral part of their power struggle against both the secular wing of bureaucracy and the opposition in Turkey, and never shied away from instrumentalizing it for their domestic political ambitions. As populist tendencies increasingly characterised the AKP rule in its second decade, securitization has come to dominate foreign policy making and discourse in the country.
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