The effect of social cleavages on the party system in Turkey

This study analyzes party systems in Turkey from the perspective of social cleavage theory. In the study, the definition and criteria of the concept of social cleavage are presented. The study analyzes social cleavages and party systems based on Lipset and Rokkan's theory of cleavage and Bartolini and Mair's criteria of cleavage. The importance of the historical background in the formation of social divisions in Turkey and the place of the concept in the literature are revealed. Then, critical periods of military interventions, electoral system changes and institutional changes were identified to analyze social cleavage in Turkey. The periods are analyzed both within themselves and in comparison with other periods. Party election programs and manifestos were analyzed to monitor party strategies, which is the supply side of social cleavage, and voter surveys were analyzed for voter determinism, which is the demand side. The study was analyzed with the process tracing method and social cleavage were monitored throughout the periods and the reasons for the transformations that took place were investigated. The study shows that party systems in Turkey are shaped by both institutionalist and socialist approaches. It is observed that social cleavage interact with the dynamics of the institutionalist approach, namely the electoral system, the number of parties and party strategies. The cleavage formed according to the periodic conditions did not take place in a one-dimensional line, but mostly articulated with the existing cleavage to form a multi-layered system.