Changing Horses in Midstream: Party Changers in the Turkish National Assembly

Dealing in Discipline: Party Switching and Legislative Voting in the Italian Chamber of Deputies, 1988–2000

“…Other studies suggest ambition as the driving force behind switching (Mershon and Shvetsova 2008). Turan (1985), for instance, finds that switchers in Turkey seem to serve longer in the legislature and to “accomplish other goals,” while Sánchez de Dios (1999; see also Àgh 1999; Tomás Mallén 2002) views switching as a means of jockeying for position and political influence. Studies that show that legislators who change parties also change the way they vote (e.g., Ansolabehere et al 2001; McCarty et al 2001; Nokken 2000) implicitly consider ambition, since party‐induced changes in voting behavior likely are linked to party discipline, and discipline works because legislators are ambitious.…”

Being a Member of Parliament in contemporary Turkey

“…[20] Our endeavour is to link the question of resources with that of roles. In the same perspective, Turan (1985) linked the practise of transfers from one party to another with the resources of the MPs. In a first step, we see how the political field is characterised by mechanisms of selection and transformation of resources.…”

“…The elected representatives are able to move quite easily from a party to another, for instance if they think that they are not positioned at an eligible level on the list, or that their party won't go through the 10% threshold (Massicard 2003). At least before 1980, party changing appears to improve career prospects (Turan 1985). In his first account of the specific profile of the party changers, Turan (1985) showed that, in the case of individual transfers, party changers tended to come more from small and least developed constituencies.…”

“…At least before 1980, party changing appears to improve career prospects (Turan 1985). In his first account of the specific profile of the party changers, Turan (1985) showed that, in the case of individual transfers, party changers tended to come more from small and least developed constituencies.…”

“…However, we can still rely on the works of Gençkaya, Hazama, Kalaycıoğlu, Özbudun and Turan (see bibliography). Turan (1985) and Kalaycıoğlu (1988Kalaycıoğlu ( , 1995Kalaycıoğlu ( , 1999 addressed the behaviour of the MPs in the TBMM, the time spent on 'case work' as well as the committee activities of the MPs in the 1980s and the 1990s.…”