Personalisation of politics in Turkey: The case of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

The personalization of politics can be considered as a process in which the political field is shaped within the framework of personal characteristics. Changes in social structures and institutions in the historical process have also transformed the functioning and determination process in the political sphere. Therefore, postmodernism, globalization, social movements, innovations in communication technologies and the media are the main factors of this transformation process. This change initiated the process of social atomization and individualized social life. Changes in social structures and institutions in the historical process have transformed the functioning of the political sphere. Postmodernism, globalization, social movements, innovations in communication technologies and the media are the main elements of this transformation process. Globalization initiated the process of social atomization and it led to individualization in social life. The individualization that occurred in public life led to the personalization of politics. The personalisation of politics is dominated by a leader-oriented understanding rather than ideology, political parties and policies. In this context, the personalisation of politics dominates a leader-oriented understanding rather than ideology, political parties and policies. Although it is common for political leaders to become effiecient in the political sphere due to the nature of politics, the personalisation of the entire political sphere can negatively affect the democratic course of politics. When Turkish political life is examined, a historical process is encountered which is identified with the leaders. As in different political cultures, there are periods in Turkish political culture that are identified with the personality of the leaders. In this thesis, the personalization of politics in Turkey is discussed within the framework of the example of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. In this study, the reasons and results related to the personalization of politics are examined and the leaders who have played an active role in Turkish politics from the establishment of Republic to the present are evaluated in the context of personalization. Furthermore, as one of the most impressive examples of the personalization of politics in Turkish political life, the effects of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Turkish politics have been tried to be revelaed in the context of personalization.