Analysis of Emotions in Politics: Electoral Campaigns of the Incumbent Party in Turkey from 2002 to 2019

Date

2025-2

Author

Bedir, Nurdan Selay

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The study of emotions has become a prominent area of research, reflecting the significant increase in attention to this topic over the past decades. The prevailing view among contemporary scholars is that emotions constitute a fundamental aspect of human experience and that their influence cannot be ignored. While the impact of emotions has been the subject of considerable scrutiny, the strategic deployment of emotions has also been the focus of investigation from various perspectives. In light of this understanding, this research posits that the place, role and use of emotions can be well taken as objects of study in the context of the AKP – thereby contributing to the understanding of Turkish politics in the contemporary period. This study employs qualitative content analysis to illuminate the deployment and manipulation of appealing emotions as a distinctive communication strategy in election campaigns. It utilises a software programme (MAXQDA) as an analytical instrument with the assistance of a well-structured codebook. In light of the findings from the analysis, this dissertation argues that emotions, as a pivotal component of its mode of governance, constitute a salient instrument employed by the AKP to galvanise its mass base. It further argues that the management of emotions reflecting the AKP’s political strategy has made Turkey a notable example of an emotional regime under the AKP rule.

Subject Keywords

AKP, electoral campaigning, emotional appeals, politics of emotion, qualitative content analysis

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/113492

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis