Election propaganda of minorities (Greek-Armenian-Jewish) in Turkish political life (1946-1960)

This thesis research is concerned with the participation of non-Muslim citizens (Greeks, Armenians, Jews) in Turkish political life and their election propaganda. From this point of view, the question pursued is to what extent religious prejudice has an impact on the quality of political representation in Türkiye and how it affects the elections. The thesis study is comprised of four sections. The initial section examines the definition of non-Muslims at the Lausanne Conference and the subsequent impact of these definitions on election propaganda. In other words, we will try to understand what kind of electoral propaganda the Greek, Armenian, and Jewish parliamentary candidates conducted in Lausanne. The second part focuses on the single-party government's decision to grant non-Muslims the right to vote and be elected, and the debates this decision generated in public opinion. In particular, the election propaganda conducted by the minority candidates of the Free Republican Party (SCF) in the 1930 municipal elections and the language they used in the rallies are discussed. The speeches made by the minority deputies elected in the following elections from the rostrum of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye and the activities they carried out are analyzed. The third section focuses on the expectations of non-Muslim citizens with the transition to multi-party life and how non-Muslim parliamentary candidates presented these expectations in the election arenas. In the fourth section, the effects of the community leaders who led the non-Muslim communities on the elections are discussed.There is no doubt that this study will fill a large gap in the literature and be a source for new studies.