Ideology or Economic Pragmatism?: Profiling Turkish Voters in 2007

摘要

The July 2007 general elections took place in an atmosphere of polarization around debates concerning the changing nature of the Turkish political regime. The election victory for the incumbent Justice and Development Party (AKP) seemed to depend on two competing sources of influence upon voters in their choice for political parties. One was primarily long-term ideological orientations built on left-right self-placement, religiosity, and conservatism. The other was relatively short-term evaluations of government performance, especially on the economic front. This essay evaluates these two branches of influence upon voters' choice, using survey data collected before and after the July election.