The mediating role of the political perception of social media within the relationship between political interest and political engagement: A research on municipal assembly members in Mersin

The political engagement of individuals via following current changes in politics that stands out within the establishment and management of intergovernmental relations is noteworthy for setting up a good governance substructure. Indeed, it has been seen that social media that refers to an easily accessible, direct, interactive and effective tool has a critical role in the process of political engagement in both local/regional and national/international planes at present. On the other hand, members who have a pivotal role in the municipal assembly that signify a fundamental dynamic of local politics and center of this study is one of the significant milestones in Turkey's municipalism. From this point of view, this study aims at being fulfilled a clear need of researches in the literature related to examination of mediating role of social media as an important instrument within the relationship between political interest and political engagement in the municipal assembly where decisions regarding project, investment and problem areas that affect the citizens' lives are being taken. In this respect, the questionnaire has been applied to 141 assembly members through the snowball sampling method in Mersin, and the data has been analyzed using "SPSS 26.0" program. As a result of the analysis, it has been revealed that political interest has a statistically significant relationship with political engagement. Furthermore, it has been determined that the political perception of social media has a statistically significant relationship with both political interest and political engagement. Additionally, it has been seen that the political perception of social media has a mediating role within the relationship between political interest and political engagement, and accordingly, future deductions have been made.