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When elites polarize over polarization: Framing the polarization debate in Turkey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 November 2018

Senem Aydın-Düzgit  and
Evren Balta
Senem Aydın-Düzgit
Affiliation:
Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Sabancı University, Orta Mahalle, Tuzla, İstanbul, Turkey 34956; saduzgit@sabanciuniv.edu.
Evren Balta
Affiliation:
Program in International Relations, New York University, 19 University Place, New York, NY, USA 10003; eb616@nyu.edu.
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Abstract

This article aims to explore the views of the Turkish elite on the state of polarization in Turkey. By identifying four political frames—namely, harmony, continuity/decline, conspiracy, and conflict—that selected Turkish political and civil society elites use in discussing the phenomenon of polarization in the country through their contributions to a workshop and in-depth qualitative interviews, the article finds that there is a considerable degree of polarization among the Turkish elite regarding their views on the presence of polarization in Turkey. Moreover, this overlaps with the divide between the government and the opposition in the country. An analysis of the justificatory arguments employed in constituting the aforementioned frames shows that, while those elites who deny the existence of polarization seek its absence in essentialist characteristics of society, in reductionist comparisons with history, or in internal/external enemies, those who acknowledge polarization’s presence look for its roots in political and institutional factors and processes. The article highlights how, given the denial of polarization by the pro-government elite and the substantial gap between the two camps’ justificatory narratives, the currently reported high rates of polarization in Turkey can, at best, be expected to remain as is in the near future, barring a radical change in political constellations.

Keywords

polarizationTurkeypopulismdemocracyelite conflict
Type
Articles
Information
New Perspectives on Turkey , Volume 60 , May 2019 , pp. 153 - 176
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Copyright
© New Perspectives on Turkey and Cambridge University Press 2018 

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Footnotes

Authors’ Note: This study was made possible by the Post-Coup Opportunities on Conflict Resolution and Democracy Project conducted by the Resolution and Mediation Stream of Istanbul Policy Center. The authors would like to thank Pınar Akpınar for project coordination and the three anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments on the earlier versions of this article.

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