Social Representations of Democracy Among Citizens in Türkiye

Abstract

Scientific, political, and ideological concepts are perceived and evaluated differently by laypersons compared to the knowledge of experts. When such concepts find a place in daily life, they transform into social representations and integrate into individuals’ discourse and the world of thought. This study focuses on the social representations of the concept of "democracy", which is frequently used in politics. Democracy is addressed from a social psycho logical perspective within the framework of the social representations theory. The research was carried out with the participation of individuals from different demographic characteristics in Istanbul. Semi-structured interview questions on democracy were created due to the literature review and pilot interviews, and in-depth interviews were conducted with 30 participants with these questions. Fifteen interviews were conducted individually, while the other 15 were conducted as focus group interviews in groups of three. The obtained data were analyzed using the MAXQDA software and the thematic analysis method. As a result of the analysis, 11 main themes and 33 sub themes were revealed. Three basic social representations of democracy were identified through these themes: “democracy as a system based on liberal values,” “democracy as a disadvantaged system,” and “democracy as an impossible system.” Representation based on liberal values views democracy as a system dominated by freedom, equality, justice, and individual rights. Disadvantaged system representation sees democracy as a structure open to abuse and, therefore, problematic. Impossible system representation defines democracy as a utopia contrary to human nature and cannot be applied in real life. The results have shown that individuals’ views on democracy, while sharing some similarities with scientific knowledge, are shaped based on practical experiences. These findings are consistent with the predictions of the social representations theory and reveal that the social reality of democracy is constructed in a multifaceted structure. At the same time, they have similarities and differences with the results of other studies in the literature examining the social representations of democracy and how laypersons conceptualize democracy.

Keywords

• Democracy
• social representations
• laypeople
• everyday knowledge
• qualitative analysis

Türkiye’deki Vatandaşların Demokrasiye İlişkin Sosyal Temsilleri

Abstract

Bilimsel, politik ve ideolojik kavramlar, uzmanların bilgisine kıyasla sıradan insanlar tarafından farklı şekillerde algılanır ve değerlendirilir. Bu tür kavramlar günlük hayatta yer bulduğunda sosyal temsillere dönüşerek bireylerin söylem ve düşünce dünyasına entegre olur. Bu çalışmanın odağında, politika alanında sıkça kullanılan "demokrasi" kavramının sosyal temsilleri yer almıştır. Demokrasi, sosyal temsiller kuramı çerçevesinde sosyal psikolojik bir bakış açısıyla ele alınmıştır. Araştırma, İstanbul’dan farklı demografik özelliklere sahip bireylerin katılımıyla gerçekleştirilmiştir. Demokrasiye dair yarı yapılandırılmış görüşme soruları, alanyazın taraması ve pilot görüşmeler sonucunda oluşturulmuş, bu sorularla toplamda 30 katılımcıyla derinlemesine görüşmeler yapılmıştır. Bu görüşmelerin 15’i bireysel, diğer 15’i ise üç kişilik gruplar hâlinde odak grup görüşmeleri şeklinde yürütülmüştür. Elde edilen veriler, tematik analiz yöntemiyle MAXQDA yazılımında analiz edilmiştir. Analiz sonucunda 11 ana tema ve 33 alt tema ortaya çıkarılmış; bu temalar üzerinden demokrasinin üç temel sosyal temsili belirlenmiştir: “Liberal değerlere dayalı bir sistem olarak demokrasi,” “dezavantajlı bir sistem olarak demokrasi” ve “mümkün olmayan bir sistem olarak demokrasi.” Liberal değerlere dayalı demokrasi temsilinde, demokrasi özgürlük, eşitlik, adalet ve bireysel haklar gibi değerlerin üzerine kurulu bir sistemi ifade etmektedir. Dezavantajlı sistem temsili, demokrasiyi kötüye kullanıma açık, dolayısıyla sorunlu bir yapı olarak görmektedir. Mümkün olmayan sistem temsili ise demokrasiyi, insan doğasına aykırı ve gerçek hayatta uygulanamaz bir ütopya olarak tanımlamaktadır. Sonuçlar, bireylerin demokrasiye ilişkin görüşlerinin, bilimsel bilgilerle bazı benzerlikler taşımakla birlikte, pratik deneyimlere dayalı olarak şekillendiğini göstermiştir. Bu bulgular, sosyal temsiller kuramının öngörüleriyle uyumlu olup demokrasiye ilişkin sosyal gerçekliğin çok yönlü bir yapıda inşa edildiğini ortaya koymaktadır. Aynı zamanda, alanyazında demokrasinin sosyal temsillerini ve demokrasinin sıradan insanlar tarafından nasıl kavramsallaştırıldığını inceleyen diğer çalışmaların sonuçlarıyla da benzerlikler ve farklılıklar taşımaktadır.

Keywords

• Demokrasi
• sosyal temsiller
• sıradan insan
• gündelik bilgi
• nitel analiz

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