'Being a servant to the sacred nation': centre-right politics, patronage and clientelism in Turkey, from the 1950s to the 2000s
MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1080/00263206.2026.2725815
- Dergi Adı: MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, IBZ Online, Periodicals Index Online, Geobase, Historical Abstracts, Index Islamicus, Jewish Studies Source, Linguistic Bibliography, MLA - Modern Language Association Database, Political Science Complete, Public Affairs Index, Index to Jewish Periodicals, MLA International Bibliography, Political Science Abstract (IPSA), Social Sciences Abstracts, Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), Art, Design & Architecture Collection (ProQuest), Social Science Premium Collection (ProQuest), Art, Design & Architecture Collection (ProQuest), Arts Premium Collection (ProQuest), Humanities Source Ultimate (EBSCO), Political Science Database (ProQuest), Sociology Source Ultimate (EBSCO)
- İstanbul Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
This study investigates how centre-right parties in Turkey have used clientelism to achieve electoral success and mobilize support across social groups, and examines its implications for party-electorate relations, intra-party power dynamics, and perceptions of democracy among politicians and citizens. Focusing on three periods and four centre-right parties, it highlights changing economic priorities and forms of clientelism. During the Democratic Party (DP) rule, trade liberalization and agricultural development were prioritized, while clientelism operated mainly through rural networks. The import-substitution industrialization period, characterized by planned development, saw clientelist and patronage networks diversify. The Justice Party (AP) expanded these networks from rural areas to urban fringes, producing a multi-layered structure. After 1980, neoliberal transformation weakened traditional clientelism amid political competition between the Motherland Party (ANAP) and True Path Party (DYP). Drawing on party programs, election manifestos, newspapers, memoirs, and interviews with centre-right politicians, the study examines how political actors understand key themes of centre-right politics, including the discourse of "serving the nation," clientelist networks, and patronage practices across changing institutional and socioeconomic contexts historically.