The political and ideological representations of the ruling and opposition parties in the 1950-1980 period: A critical discourse analysis based on election posters and declarations

In terms of Turkish political history, the 1950-1980 period can basically be characterized with the transition to the multi-party era and the acceleration of the construction of Turkish democracy with the increasing influence of the democratization trend in Turkey, which was also effective all over the world after World War II. On the other hand, these processes were quite challenging due to the three military coups that followed each decade of this thirty-year period. At the same time, in this period when political communication started to be professionalized in the world, many innovations were realized in Turkey in terms of political communication methods. In such a context, this study, which is theoretically shaped by the critical political communication paradigm, examines the declarations and posters used in the election campaigns of the ruling and main opposition parties in eight general elections between 1950 and 1980. Methodologically, thirteen election declarations and ninety-four election posters prepared by CHP-DP/AP were analyzed using content analysis and Van Dijk's Critical Discourse Analysis. As a result of the study, it can be said that almost all of the election posters use the strategy of in-group-out- group polarization, that the political and ideological representations of the election campaigns are quite different from each other, and that the themes and discourses of the election campaigns of both parties change at different positions and times.