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ID: 190814

Reflections on Serif Mardin’s center-periphery thesis / Levin, Paul T

Levin, Paul T	Journal Article
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Summary/Abstract

It would be an understatement to say that Şerif Mardin’s center-periphery thesis (CPT) has been influential on contemporary understandings of Turkey. This essay reflects on the impact of the CPT, considers the challenges from both critics and a changing empirical reality, and discusses whether it still has something to offer us today. It argues that some of the criticisms levied at Mardin’s thesis are based on a misunderstanding of the role of simplification in social science, while others point to important shortcomings of the theory without presenting an alternative framework. However, the article suggests that the anomalies in the CPT have by now amassed to the point that it no longer serves as a meaningful approximation of key dynamics in Turkish politics, primarily because it fails to capture the importance of the Kurdish issue and the consolidation of the ruling AKP at the center.

Key Words

AKP ; Kurdish Issue ; Serif Mardin ; Secular - Religious Cleavage ; Center - Periphery

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ID: 190690

Turkey’s Republican People’s Party (CHP): a Longue Duree analysis / Cinar, Kursat; Ugur-Cinar, Meral ; Acikgoz, Ali

Cinar, Kursat	Journal Article
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Summary/Abstract

This article employs regressive and spatial analyses to understand the correlates of the CHP’s electoral support from the first competitive elections in 1950 to the present. We find that despite some continuities in its constituency, the CHP’s voter base has changed significantly with regards to key political and social dynamics such as the Kurdish vote, effective number of parties, and urbanization. The findings give credence to the role of political leadership as well as the evolutionary capability of the party, both of which can have important implications regarding the future electoral trajectory of the party and of Turkey’s political regime.

Key Words

Political Parties ; Democratization ; Turkish Politics ; Republican People’s Party (CHP) ; Center – Periphery Cleavage ; Secular - Religious Cleavage

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