A Transnational Cleavage Across the Bosphorus? The Role of Globalizing Forces in Turkish Politics
[Thesis]
Kinnier, Edgar Owen, IV
Marks, Gary
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2020
58
M.A.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2020
The pressures of a world-wide financial crisis, mass migration, and a globalizing economy have created a new transnational cleavage between the "winners" and "losers" of globalization. While European and North American democracies are not the only states to feel the pressures of globalization, the emergence of a transnational cleavage has been under-examined outside of these areas. One clear candidate when examining transnational forces on political parties is Turkey. In Turkey, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) has moved from pro-European "Muslim Democrats" to defensive nationalism, while the opposition, the Republican People's Party (CHP), has attempted a pivot toward "new left" politics. Can the pressures of an emerging transnational cleavage explain party movement in Turkey? This thesis finds partial support for the theory that globalization drives positional realignment amongst Turkish parties, but further research is needed on how party positions toward immigration are shaped in the Turkish system.