The puzzle of exceptionalism: why is there no strong radical left party in Turkey?
TURKISH STUDIES, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1080/14683849.2026.2699184
- Dergi Adı: TURKISH STUDIES
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, IBZ Online, Historical Abstracts, Index Islamicus, MLA - Modern Language Association Database, Political Science Complete, Public Affairs Index, MLA International Bibliography, Political Science Abstract (IPSA), Social Sciences Abstracts, Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), Sociology Source Ultimate (EBSCO)
- İstanbul Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Unlike their Southern European counterparts, radical left parties (RLPs) have largely failed to emerge in Turkey as an alternative to mainstream politics. To explain their weak electoral performance from the 1980s to the early 2020s, we combine demand- and supply-side perspectives, yielding four key findings. First, the capital-labour cleavage has been increasingly overshadowed by socio-cultural and territorial cleavages, undermining RLPs' labour-centred agenda. Second, RLPs that fail to adopt movement-party characteristics and incorporate new left issues perform poorly in elections. Third, the resilience of their social-democratic competitor (CHP) constrains RLPs' electoral potential. Finally, the high electoral threshold structurally disadvantages RLPs.