Person: BALTA, Evren
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Evren
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BALTA
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ArticlePublication Metadata only When elites polarize over polarization: Framing the polarization debate in Turkey(Cambridge University Press, 2018-11) Aydin-Duzgit, S.; Paker, Evren Balta; International Relations; BALTA, EvrenThis 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.ArticlePublication Open Access Collective discussion: Movement and carceral spatiality in the pandemic(Oxford University Press, 2023-07-04) Shindo, R.; Altan-Olcay, Ö.; Paker, Evren Balta; Van Houtum, H.; Van Uden, A.; Rajaram, P. K.; Coward, M.; Pellander, S.; Huysmans, J.; International Relations; BALTA, EvrenVarious measures of mobility restrictions were introduced since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. This collective discussion examines them in relation to six different carceral techniques that govern movement: citizenship, nativism, colonialism, infrastructure, gender, and borders. We investigate how these spatializing techniques of carcerality have been modified and strengthened in the pandemic and their implications for how we conceptualize migration. Our conversation revolves around the relationality between movement and confinement to argue that they are not in opposition but work in tandem: Their meanings become interchangeable, and their relationship is reconfigured. In this collective discussion, we are interested in how to analyze movement/migration in ways that do not define the pandemic through temporal boundaries to mark its beginning and ending.ArticlePublication Metadata only Debating voter defection in Turkey(Taylor & Francis, 2023-10-20) Paker, Evren Balta; Demiralp, S.; Demiralp, S.; International Relations; BALTA, EvrenThis study examines patterns of voter defection from Turkey’s incumbent AKP amid major economic and democratic decline. As in other electoral autocracies, defectors constitute a small but politically significant group in Turkey, where the opposition’s ability to secure a transition from authoritarianism depends on reducing the incumbent’s vote share. Based on survey data gathered in November 2021 and February 2022, we find that while the high level of partizanship among AKP voters hinders defection, persistent economic and democratic decline still reduces incumbent support. We also found that defections are higher outside of the lowest income group. Our findings have important implications for opposition strategies in electoral autocracies. Directing public debate away from identity issues to economic and democratic problems increases the likelihood of defection. In addition, offering voters clear superior alternatives decreases the cost of uncertainty that comes with change and increases the likelihood of defection.ArticlePublication Metadata only War and peace in the age of corona: an analysis of support for repressive state policies in divided societies(Taylor & Francis, 2022-03-15) Gurses, M.; Paker, Evren Balta; Çelik, A. B.; International Relations; BALTA, EvrenUnlike various natural disasters that some studies have highlighted as potential contributors to peace, the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic is neither short-term nor regionally confined. Thus, rather than invoking a compassionate response, the pandemic is likely to aggravate pre-existing divisions and create an environment that accentuates survival over compassion. Building on a large probability survey data gathered in May 2020 in Turkey, we demonstrate that the pandemic has disproportionally affected minority Kurds and exacerbated pre-existing inequalities and social polarization. Results from a series of regression analyses show growing dissatisfaction with the Turkish government’s handling of the pandemic. However, this effect fails to translate into the sense of solidarity between majority Turks and minority Kurds necessary to build a peaceful society. Support for the government’s approach to the Kurdish opposition seems to be conditioned by social categorization and increasingly partisan political identities in Turkey.ArticlePublication Metadata only Civil war and democratization: A micro‐level analysis(Wiley, 2020-03) Gurses, M.; Celik, A. B.; Paker, Evren Balta; International Relations; BALTA, EvrenObjective In this study we draw on the conflict between the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and Turkey to explore how exposure to violence can engender support for democracy at the individual level. Methods We rely on two nationwide representative surveys carried out in Turkey and estimate a series of ordered logistic and logistic regression models. Results We find that exposure to violence during civil war is a significant predictor of embracing positive attitudes toward democracy. Wartime experiences are associated with a conceptualization of democracy that underscores equality and greater tolerance toward others. Conclusion Being a member of a repressed minority is not sufficient to explain support for democracy. The link between wartime experiences and holding positive attitudes toward democracy is conditioned by the degree of exposure to violence or which political party is supported.ArticlePublication Metadata only Peace processes and the integration of pro-government militias: The case of village guards in Turkey(Sage, 2022-01) Paker, Evren Balta; Yuksel, M.; Acar, Y. G.; International Relations; BALTA, EvrenMilitia groups have only recently started to attract scholarly attention in the literature on internal conflicts. This attention is mostly focused on either the causes of their emergence or their functions and performance during the conflict. The role of militia groups in post-conflict processes, however, has not been adequately addressed. This article intends to fill this gap by analyzing the case of village guards, a type of pro-government militia system in Turkey, based on qualitative evidence from field research. While the dominant narrative in the literature identifies militia groups as spoilers in peace processes, the article shows that militias do not act as spoilers under certain conditions. In the case of the village guard system in Turkey, the permanent integration of militias into the state's regular military apparatus prevented militia groups from acting as spoilers. It then argues that the permanent integration of wartime militia systems is a consequence of two factors: militia networking and a lack of comprehensive peace-building structures.ArticlePublication Metadata only Populist attitudes and conspiratorial thinking(Sage, 2022-07) Paker, Evren Balta; Kaltwasser, C. R.; Yagci, A. H.; International Relations; BALTA, EvrenWhat happens to the anti-establishment sentiments of pro-incumbent voters for a populist force that is in government and thus controls the political system? This article examines this question utilizing the case of Turkey, a country in which a populist force has been in power for more than a decade. By analyzing populist attitudes among a nationally representative sample, we demonstrate that while the voters of the incumbent populist party (AKP) are less likely, compared to everyone else, to hold populist sentiments, the same voters are also substantially more likely to endorse conspiracy theories that center on malign foreign powers. This finding is relevant beyond Turkey, because it demonstrates that populist forces might be able to maintain popular support and thus stay in power for a long stretch of time by employing government propaganda to fuel an antagonism against conspiratorial foreign and global forces.ArticlePublication Metadata only Defeating populists: The case of 2019 Istanbul elections(Taylor & Francis, 2021) Demiralp, S.; Paker, Evren Balta; International Relations; BALTA, EvrenHow can populist competitive authoritarian regimes be defeated through elections? In this article, we focus on the 2019 municipal campaign strategy of the opposition Istanbul candidate Ekrem İmamoglu as a case study of a successful challenge to a populist competitive authoritarian regime. We argue that such regimes may be prone to defeat when their opponents use what we call an ‘inverted populist’ strategy. This strategy involves three key elements: adopting an indirect and gradualist approach that avoids direct confrontation with the populist leader and the popular values s/he represents, redefining the ‘the people’ by including previously excluded groups, and promising redistribution to disadvantaged groups.ArticlePublication Metadata only Populist radical right beyond Europe: The case of Islamic nativism in Turkey(John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2023-06-16) Paker, Evren Balta; International Relations; BALTA, EvrenTurkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) is one of the longest ruling among contemporary populist radical right parties (PRR). For nearly two decades, the AKP has shown tremendous success in achieving electoral dominance and political control. This article argues that AKP’s success lies in its ability to reconfigure the issue salience in Turkish politics by bringing the secular-conservative cleavage into the center of political competition. However, as this article shows, while the government’s framing of conservative/religious values was initially populist, as the Party consolidated its power, populism became secondary to nativism. This nativist turn is characterized by an emphasis on the foreignness of “the elites” and is shaped by secularization of the public sphere and antiwesternism. Overall, AKP has not presented a fundamental opposition to the “establishment” but brought together many components of Turkey’s institutional and cultural structure and radicalized patterns already present in earlier eras.ArticlePublication Metadata only Turkey's foreign policy: Opportunities and constraints in a new era(New School Unv., 2021) Paker, Evren Balta; Özel, S.; International Relations; BALTA, EvrenN/A