Yurt Dışı Oy Hakkı ve Demokratik Sınır Sorunu: Demokratik Kapsayıcılık Bağlamında Türkiye Örneğinin Analizi

Year 2025, Volume: 5 Issue: 2, 178 - 197, 23.09.2025

Süleyman Furkan Çobankara

https://doi.org/10.52241/tjds.1651801

Abstract

External Voting and the Democratic Boundary Problem: A Democratic Inclusion Analysis of the Turkish Case

Abstract

This study delves into Turkey's historical trajectory of external voting by scrutinizing it through three fundamental democratic inclusion principles: the All Subjected Principle, the All Affected Principle, and the Stakeholder Principle. By exploring Turkey's evolution in external voting practices alongside these principles, this research aims to offer a comprehensive understanding of the dynamics of Turkey's engagement with its diaspora and the implications for its electoral processes. From the absence of external voting laws before 1950 to the establishment of ballot boxes abroad in 2014, Turkey's journey elucidates the intricate interplay between normative democratic principles and practical electoral regulations. Through an examination of Turkey's external voting history, this study contributes to a deeper comprehension of the boundaries of democratic inclusion and the evolving nature of political engagement beyond national borders. The findings cover Turkey's external voting alteration across four stages, each investigated through democratic inclusion principles. From the absence of legislation pre-1950 to the establishment of ballot boxes abroad in 2014, Turkey's journey reflects varying degrees of alignment with the All Subjected, All Affected, and Stakeholder Principles. The study found that Turkey has gradually extended its inclusiveness to its diaspora based on citizenship, even without the limitation of Bauböck's Stakeholder Principle.

Keywords

democratic boundary , external voting , the Turkish diaspora , the All Subjected Principle , the All Affected Principle , the Stakeholder Principle

References

• 3377 Sayılı Kanun [Law No. 3377 Amending the Law on Basic Provisions of Elections and Voter Reg¬isters] (1987).
• 5749 Sayılı Kanun [Law No. 5749 Amending the Law on Basic Provisions of Elections and Voter Reg¬isters] (2008).
• 6304 Sayılı Kanun [Law No. 6304 Amending the Law on Basic Provisions of Elections and Voter Reg¬isters] (2012).
• Aksel, D. (2022). Diaspora Engagement Policies as Transnational Social Engineering: Rise and Failure of Turkey’s Diaspora Policies. Middle East Critique, 31(4), 311–325.
• Allen, N., Kinzie, E., & Singh, E. (2024). Deferred Emigrant Voting Rights in South Asia: Analyzing the Puzzle of Non-Enfranchisement in Competitive Regimes. International Area Studies Review, 27(2), 75–94.
• Arkilic, A. (2021a). Explaining the evolution of Turkey’s diaspora engagement policy: A holistic ap¬proach. Diaspora Studies, 14(1), 1–21.
• Arkilic, A. (2021b). Turkish populist nationalism in transnational space: Explaining diaspora voting be¬haviour in homeland elections. Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, 23(4), 586–605.
• Arkilic, A. (2022). ‘Selective engagement.’ Mobilising a fragmented diaspora and the limits of diaspora diplomacy. In Diaspora Diplomacy: The Politics of Turkish Emigration to Europe (pp. 120–142). Manchester University Press.
• Bauböck, R. (2005). Expansive Citizenship: Voting beyond Territory and Membership. PS: Political Sci¬ence and Politics, 38(4), 683–687.
• Bauböck, R. (2015). Morphing the Demos into the right shape. Normative principles for enfranchising resident aliens and expatriate citizens. Democratization, 22(5), 820–839.
• Bauböck, R. (2018). Democratic inclusion: Rainer Bauböck in dialogue. Manchester University Press.
• Bayraktar, T. (2024). Yurt Dışında Yaşayan Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Vatandaşlarının Seçme Hakkına İlişkin Tartışmalar. Necmettin Erbakan Universitesi Hukuk Fakultesi Dergisi, 7(1), 151-172.
• Bengtson, A. (2021). The All-Affected Principle and the Question of Asymmetry. Political Research Quar¬terly, 74(3), 718–728.
• Bloks, S. A. (2024). Democratic Boundary Problems: Philosophical Inquiries into Peoples, Elections and Territories [Doctoral Thesis, Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek Hamburg Carl von Ossietzky].
• Blumer, H. (1954). What is Wrong with Social Theory? American Sociological Review, 19(1), 3–10.
• Boudou, B. (2023). Representing non-citizens: A proposal for the inclusion of all affected interests. Crit¬ical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy, 26(5), 747–768.
• Caramani, D., & Grotz, F. (2015). Beyond citizenship and residence? Exploring the extension of voting rights in the age of globalization. Democratization, 22(5), 799–819.
• Çobankara, S. F. (2023). The Effects of Granting the Right of External Voting to the Diaspora Policies of AKP and CHP. Turkish Journal of Diaspora Studies, 3(1), 24–41.
• Collyer, M. (2014). A geography of extra-territorial citizenship: Explanations of external voting. Migra¬tion Studies, 2(1), 55–72.
• Dahl, R. A. (1990). After the Revolution?: Authority in a Good Society. Yale University Press.
• Egeliği, Ö. E. (2024). Yurt dışında yaşayan Türk vatandaşlarının oy hakkı ve temsili. Türk-Alman Üniver¬sitesi Hukuk Fakültesi Dergisi, 6(1), 386–444.
• Erman, E. (2022). The boundary problem of democracy: A function-sensitive view. Contemporary Polit¬ical Theory, 21(2).
• Fliess, N., Kiani, A., & Østergaard-Nielsen, E. (2025). Why do autocracies enfranchise their citizens abroad? A large-N event history analysis, 1990–2010. Democratization, 32(3), 659–683.
• Ginnane, T. D. (2021). The national membership politics of external voting [Doctoral dissertation, The Uni¬versity of Texas at Austin]
• Goodin, R. E. (2007). Enfranchising all affected interests, and its alternatives. Philosophy & Public Af¬fairs, 35(1), 40–68.
• Goodin, R. E., & Arrhenius, G. (2024). Enfranchising all subjected: A reconstruction and problematiza¬tion. Politics, Philosophy & Economics, 23(2), 125–153.
• Himmelroos, S., & Peltoniemi, J. (2021). External Voting Rights from a Citizen Perspective – Compar¬ing Resident and Non-resident Citizens’ Attitudes towards External Voting. Scandinavian Polit¬ical Studies, 44(4), 463–486.
• Jakobson, M.-L., Umpierrez de Reguero, S., & Yener-Roderburg, I. Ö. (2023). When migrants become ‘the people’: Unpacking homeland populism. Contemporary Politics, 29(3), 277–297.
• Kadirbeyoğlu, Z., & Okyay, A. (2015). Turkey: Voting from abroad in 2015 general elections. Global Governance Programme Report.
• Kadirbeyoğlu, Z., Unat, N. A., Cidam, V., Kaynak, S., Özay, B., Cinar, D., & Taş, S. (2017). Voting Be¬havior of Euro-Turks and Turkey`s Presidential Elections of 2014.
• Koç, E. C. Ç. (2021). Türkiye’de Askerlik Hizmetinin Düzenlenmesi [Yüksek Lisans Tezi, Hacettepe Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü].
• Köse, M. (2020). Türk Diasporasının Siyasal Katılımı Çerçevesinde Diaspora Politikalarının Gelişimi [Dok¬tora Tezi, İstanbul Üniversitesi].
• Lafleur, J.-M. (2011). Why do states enfranchise citizens abroad? Comparative insights from Mexico, It¬aly and Belgium. Global Networks, 11(4), 481–501.
• Lafleur, J.-M. (2015). The enfranchisement of citizens abroad: Variations and explanations. Democrati¬zation, 22(5), 840–860.
• López-Guerra, C. (2005). Should expatriates vote? Journal of Political Philosophy, 13(2), 216–234.
• Magaña, P. (2024). The boundary problem in democratic theory: A methodological approach. Res Pub¬lica, 30(2), 305-322.
• Milletvekilleri Seçim Kanunu [Law on Parliamentary Elections] (1950).
• Näsström, S. (2011). The Challenge of the All-Affected Principle. Political Studies, 59(1), 116–134.
• Nyblade, B., Wellman, E. I., & Allen, N. (2022). Transnational voting rights and policies in violent de¬mocracies: a global comparison. Comparative Migration Studies, 10(1), 27.
• Østergaard-Nielsen, E., Ciornei, I., & Lafleur, J.-M. (2019). Why do parties support emigrant voting rights? European Political Science Review, 11(3), 377–394.
• Owen, D. (2010). Resident Aliens, Non-resident Citizens and Voting Rights: Towards a Pluralist Theo¬ry of Transnational Political Equality and Modes of Political Belonging. In G. Calder, P. Cole, & J. Seglow (Eds.), Citizenship Acquisition and National Belonging (pp. 52–73). Palgrave Mac¬millan UK.
• Peltoniemi, J., Ciornei, I., & Himmelroos, S. (2022). Voting From Abroad. Frontiers in Political Science, 3, Article 816260.
• Şahin‐Mencütek, Z., & Erdoğan, M. M. (2016). The Implementation of Voting from Abroad: Evidence from the 2014 Turkish Presidential Election. International Migration, 54(3), 173–186.
• Schwartz-Shea, P., & Yanow, D. (2013). Interpretive Research Design: Concepts and Processes. Routledge.
• Sevi, S., Mekik, C. S., Blais, A., & Çakır, S. (2020). How do Turks abroad vote? Turkish Studies, 21(2), 208–230.197
• Song, S. (2012). The boundary problem in democratic theory: Why the demos should be bounded by the state. International Theory, 4(1), 39–68.
• Tanasoca, A. (2018). The ethics of multiple citizenship. Cambridge University Press.
• Tavacı, E., & Gündoğar, H. (2023). Dövizle Askerlik Uygulaması ve Türk Diasporasi. In M. Köse (Ed.), Diaspora Politikalarına Dair Türkiye İçin Öneriler -1 Siyasi ve Sivil Haklar (pp. 117–140). GavPerspektif.
• Topkan, S. C. (2022). Çifte Vatandaşlik Ve “Çelişik” Siyasal Tercih: Belçika’da Yaşayan Türkiyelilerin Ulusö¬tesi Siyasal Katılımları Üzerine Nitel Bir Araştirma [PhD Thesis]. Hacettepe Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü. Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Anayasası [Constitution of the Republic of Turkey] (1982).
• Umpierrez de Reguero, S. A., Yener-Roderburg, I. Ö., & Cartagena, V. (2021). Political regimes and ex¬ternal voting rights: A cross-national comparison. Frontiers in Political Science, 3, 636734.
• Umpierrez de Reguero, S. A., & Jakobson, M.-L. (2023). Explaining support for populists among exter¬nal voters: Between home and host country. European Political Science, 22(1), 119-142.
• Umpierrez de Reguero, S. A., Finn, V., & Peltoniemi, J. (2023). Missing links in migrant enfranchise¬ment studies. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 49(10), 2473–2499.
• Uslucan, H. H., & Sauer, M. (2020). Political Participation and Party Preferences among Immigrants of Turkish Origin in Germany. Uluslararası İlişkiler Dergisi, 17(68), 113-128.
• Valentini, L. (2024). Who Should Decide? Beyond the Democratic Boundary Problem. In A. Fung & S. W. D. Gray (Eds.), Empowering Affected Interests: Democratic Inclusion in a Globalized World (pp. 125–141). Cambridge University Press.
• Vink, M. P., & Bauböck, R. (2013). Citizenship configurations: Analysing the multiple purposes of citi¬zenship regimes in Europe. Comparative European Politics, 11(5), 621–648.
• Wellman, E. I., Allen, N. W., & Nyblade, B. (2023). The Extraterritorial Voting Rights and Restrictions Dataset (1950–2020). Comparative Political Studies, 56(6), 897–929.
• Yener-Roderburg, I. Ö. (2020). Party organizations across borders: Top-down satellites and bottom-up alliances. The case of AKP and HDP in Germany. In Political parties abroad (pp. 218–237). Routledge.
• Yener-Roderburg, I. Ö. (2022). Diasporas’ political mobilisation for a ‘Homeland’political party: The case of Turkey’s peoples’ democratic party in Germany and France [PhD Thesis, Université de Strasbourg].
• Yener-Roderburg, I. Ö. (2024). Non-Resident Citizen Voting and Transnational Mobilisation of Po¬litical Parties: The Case of Turkey. In Routledge Handbook of Turkey’s Diasporas (pp. 241–255). Routledge.
• Yener-Roderburg, I. Ö., & Yetiş, E. Ö. (2024). Building party support abroad: Turkish diaspora organi¬sations in Germany and the UK. Politics and Governance, 12.