EXTERNAL VOTES AND TRANS-NATIONALIZATION OF POLITICAL PARTIES

Year 2023, Volume: 13 Issue: 1, 457 - 469, 31.03.2023

Mehmet Köse

https://doi.org/10.30783/nevsosbilen.1228531

Abstract

The initiation of the voting practice abroad for Turkish citizens living outside national borders has opened a new aspect for the diaspora political participation. Turkish diaspora had shared and submitted its issues and demands from homeland government and political parties, and most were included in the government and party programs. However, the inexistency of the effective use of vote and representation in the political arena had put the limitation on the efficiancy of the diaspora’s impact on the implementation of the policies. But the high turnout of Turkish voters abroad, 1.5 million and 50 % turnout external voting comperatively significant as diaspora homeland voting, has dramatically changed the agenda of the political parties. Programs and promises for external voters have been included in the party programs and the candidates with diaspora background were added in parliamentary election list. The existence of a significant number of external voters involved in the political processes within the borders of the nation-state enforces political parties to adjust themselves into the new situation. This study analyzes ground and the status of political parties in Türkiye by considering the transnationalization process of political parties through conceptual background and some examples from other countries. Literature review, document analysis and elite interview methods were employed in this study to develop concept and policy recommendations.

Keywords

Diaspora, Diaspora Political Participation, External Voting, Political Parties

YURT DIŞI OYLAR VE SİYASİ PARTİLERİN ULUS-ÖTESİLEŞMESİ

Abstract

Yurt dışında yerleşik Türk seçmenlerin bulundukları ülkelerde oy kullanmaya başlaması, diasporanın anavatan siyasal katılımında yeni bir pencere açmış oldu. Uzun yıllar Türk diasporası, gündemlerini ve taleplerini Türk hükümeti yetkililerine ve siyasi partilere iletmiş, bunlar partilerin ve hükümetlerin programlarında yer almıştır. Ancak seçme ve seçilme hakkını etkin bir şekilde kullanma imkanından yoksun diasporanın siyasal alanda etkisi de sınırlı olmuştur. Diasporaların genel olarak oy kullanma eğilimleriyle kıyaslandığında Türk diasporasının 1,5 milyonu geçen ve yüzde elliden yüksek oranda seçimlere katılımı, siyasi partilerin diaspora ve yurt dışı seçmen gündemini belirgin bir şekilde değiştirmeye başlamıştır. Yurt dışı seçmenlere yönelik programlar seçim beyannamelerinde yer almakta ve diaspora geçmişi olan adaylara milletvekili seçim listelerinde yer verilmektedir. Ulus-devlet sınırları dışında ülke içindeki siyasi süreçlere dahil olan önemli sayıda seçmenin varlığı siyasi alanın temel aktörü olan partilerin yeni şartlara uyumunu zorlamaktadır. Bu çalışma, siyasi partilerin ulus-ötesileşme sürecini kavramsal arka planı ve dünya örnekleri üzerinden ele alarak Türkiye’deki altyapının ve siyasi partilerin durumunu analiz etmektedir. Literatür incelemesi, doküman analizi ve elit mülakat yöntemlerinin kullanıldığı bu çalışma hem kavramsallaştırma hem de politika önerileri ortaya koymayı amaçlamaktadır.

Keywords

Diaspora, Diaspora Siyasal Katılım, Yurtdışı Oy Verme, Siyasi Partiler

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