Individual Self-Placement on the Left-Right Scale in Turkey: A Study of the World Values Survey 1990-2018 Data

Abstract

This article studies the left-right self-placement of individuals, utilizing data from all surveys conducted in Turkey as part of the World Values Survey. According to the findings, questions relating to left-right division, rather than fading away in the post-Cold War period, have continued to generate high response rates and there has been a rightward shift in the average self-placement during 1990- 2018. The shift seems to have occurred not due to a diminishing left but because of a segment that moved from the middle to the right of the spectrum. The resulting constellation is one where workers place themselves on the right while employers and managers are on the left. That said, left-right self-placements are in a weaker relationship with class position than with values and attitudes. Among the latter, economic attitudes on welfare-state and private property are dwarfed in their relevance by secular and emancipative values in the cultural domain. Consequently, it is predicted that individuals that conjoin in such values will display similar political orientations regarding voting decisions and the like, despite any differences in income, occupation, and economic policy preferences.

Keywords

• Left-right Division
• Political Behavior
• Secularism
• Turkish Politics
• World Values Survey

Türkiye’de Bireylerin Sol-Sağ Ayrımına Göre Konumlanışı: Dünya Değerler Araştırması 1990-2018 Verilerinin İncelenmesi

Abstract

Bu makale Dünya Değerler Araştırması kapsamında Türkiye’de yapılmış tüm anketlerin verilerine dayanarak, bireylerin kendilerini sol-sağ yelpazesinde konumlandırışını incelemektedir. Bulgularımıza göre Soğuk Savaş sonrası dönemde silikleşmesi beklenebilecek sol-sağ ayrımına dair sorular 1990-2018 döneminde katılımcılardan yüksek oranda yanıt bulmaya devam etmekte, genel ortalamada ise sağa kayış gözlenmektedir. Ortalamadaki kayış, soldakilerin azalmasından ziyade ortadan kopup sağa kayan bir kütle yüzünden gerçekleşmiştir. Bu durum işçilerin sağda, işveren ve yöneticilerin ise solda kaldığı bir tablo ortaya çıkarmıştır. Bununla birlikte bireylerin sol-sağ yelpazesindeki konumları, sınıfsal konuma ilişkin değişkenlerden ziyade, bireyin tutum ve değerleri ile daha kuvvetli ilişki içindedir. Bunlar arasında, özel mülkiyet ve eşitlikçiliğe dair ekonomik tutumlara kıyasla, sekülerizm ve özgürlükçülük gibi kültürel değerlerin ne kadar benimsendiği çok daha ağır basmaktadır. Bu değerlerde ortaklaşan bireyler; gelir, çalışma durumu ve ekonomik politika tercihlerinde var olabilecek farklara rağmen oy tercihi gibi siyasi eğilimlerinde benzer noktalarda buluşacaktır.

Keywords

• sol-sağ ayrımı
• siyasal davranış
• sekülerizm
• Türkiye siyaseti
• Dünya Değerler Araştırması

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