Turkish Populist Nationalism in Transnational Space: Explaining Diaspora Voting Behaviour in Homeland Elections

Abstract

Turkey has seen a surge in populist nationalism over the last decade. How this has played out in transnational space through overseas Turkish citizens' voting behaviour remains understudied, however. This article takes up this question, focusing on how the populist-nationalist appeals of the ruling AKP have been received by Turkish citizens in Europe. Specifically, it asks why such appeals have resonated highly with voters in some host countries but not in others. The study suggests that expatriates from Turkey facing more discrimination are more likely to be wooed by populist-nationalist discourse from the homeland. The findings draw on official statements and speeches, Turkish electoral data, the European Union Minorities and Discrimination Survey, newspaper articles, and secondary sources.

Is populism popular abroad? Evidence from diasporas around the globe

“…When borders rather than people move, voters abroad lack the selection characteristics and the experience of "migrants" (Lamour and Varga, 2020). Similar provisos extend to second-or third-generation migrants with voting rights in an ancestral country, like Turkish descendants of North European "guest workers" (Arkilic, 2021;Baser, 2017). Such populations' continuing to root themselves in a heritage identity (enough to vote in a country they may never have lived in) may signal nationalist inclinations, not the cosmopolitanism underpinning most theory of emigrant anti-populism (Koinova, 2011;Waterbury, 2017); in these examples, diasporas may especially embrace populists' idea of a home-country "people" to resist the surrounding cultures (Nagel and Grove, 2021).…”

The Effects of Granting the Right of External Voting to the Diaspora Policies of AKP and CHP

“…In 1987, the right to vote at customs was legalized as an additional option, however, it is debatable whether this method can be considered as external voting (Köse, 2020). Those who wanted to vote in the ballot boxes established at customs gates had to be living abroad for more than six months and not have a voter registration in Turkey at the same time (Arkilic, 2021;Köse, 2020). Those who were registered in the electoral register, although they lived abroad, were not entitled to vote at customs gates.…”

Building Party Support Abroad: Turkish Diaspora Organisations in Germany and the UK

“…Still, less is known about to what extent diaspora organisations can influence the political orientation of non-resident voters. Limited studies on the topic have for the most part explored how Turkey-based parties have been structured extraterritorially (Yener-Roderburg, 2020, diaspora politics of Turkey-based parties/Turkish state (Aksel, 2019;Arkilic, 2022;Çobankara, 2023), and single elections, focusing on relatively narrow dimensions of diaspora electoral behaviour or Turkey's role in diaspora mobilisation (Abadan-Unat et al, 2014;Akgönül, 2017;Arkilic 2021;Şahin Mencütek & Akyol Yılmaz, 2016;Şahin-Mencütek & Erdoğan, 2016;Sevi et al, 2019). This article aims to contribute to the literature on external voting by developing an exploratory analysis of two residence countries, Germany and the UK, in which Turkish citizens have largely voted for ideologically different parties over the course of the four consecutive parliamentary elections of Turkey.…”