TÜRKİYE'DE SİYASİ KURUMLARA GÜVEN: KÜLTÜREL VE KURUMSAL AÇIKLAMALAR İLE "KAZANAN TAKIM" ETKİSİNİN ROLÜ

Siyasi kurumlara güven, demokratik toplumlarda hem mevcut siyasal sistemin halk arasında uyandırmış olduğu genel tatmin düzeyinin bir göstergesi olarak görülebilir hem de sistemin meşruiyeti ve iyi işlemesi için temel koşullardan biridir. Bu nedenle, siyasi kurumlara güvenin düzeyini ve belirleyicilerini anlamak, sosyal bilimcilerin karşısına önemli bir soru olarak çıkmaktadır. Bu çalışmada, Türkiye’deki seçmen yaşındaki nüfusu temsil etme niteliğine sahip bir örneklem ile 2015 yılının sonlarında gerçekleştirilen özgün bir saha araştırmasının verileri kullanılarak parlamento ve hükümete güvenin bireysel düzeydeki belirleyicilerini incelemekteyiz. Bulgularımıza göre bireylerin genel olarak hayatlarından ve ekonomik durumlarından memnuniyetleri, kişilerarası güven düzeyleri, ve siyasal etkinlik algıları ile siyasal güven arasında olumlu bir ilişki bulunmaktadır. Ayrıca iktidardaki AK Parti’nin seçmenlerinin siyasal kurumlara olan güveni diğer vatandaşlara göre daha yüksektir. Buna karşın, etnik ve dini azınlıklara mensup kişiler ile kentsel alanlarda yaşayanlar görece olarak daha düşük siyasal güven duygusuna sahip görünmektedir. Eğitim düzeyi ile siyasal güven arasında da negatif bir ilişki tespit edilmiştir.

TRUST IN POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS IN TURKEY: CULTURAL AND INSTITUTIONAL EXPLANATIONS AND THE “HOME TEAM" EFFECT

Trust in political institutions can be seen as an indicator of the level of general satisfaction with the political system in democratic societies, and it is also one of the fundamental conditions for the legitimacy and well-functioning of the system. For this reason, understanding the level of trust in political institutions as well as its determinants is an important question facing social scientists. In this study, we examine the individual-level determinants of trust in parliament and government in Turkey. Our data is based on an original survey with 2.495 respondents fielded between August 29 and November 29, 2015 on a nationally representative sample from 68 provinces. Our findings indicate that there is a positive relationship between political trust and satisfaction of individuals with their lives in general, with their economic circumstances, their level of interpersonal trust, and perceptions of political efficacy. In addition, supporters of the ruling AK Party display higher trust in political institutions. On the other hand, those belonging to Kurdish and Alevi communities and those living in urban areas seem to have relatively lower levels of political trust. There is also a negative relationship between level of education level and political trust. Overall, both institutional and cultural approaches to political trust have explanatory power within the Turkish context. Moreover, in line with the “winning team” argument, supporters of the current government, who can be considered as the winners of democratic contention, display higher levels of trust towards political institutions. 

___

  • Akgün, B. (2001), “Türkiye’de Siyasal Güven: Nedenleri ve Sonuçlari”, Ankara Üniversitesi SBF Dergisi, 56(04).
  • Alesina, A., E.L. Ferrara (2000), “The Determinants of Trust”, National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper No. 7621.
  • Anderson, M.R. (2010), “Community Psychology, Political Efficacy, and Trust”, Political Psychology, 31(1), 59-84.
  • Anderson, C.J., LoTempio, A.J. (2002), “Winning, Losing and Political Trust in America”, British Journal of Political Science, 32(2), 335-351.
  • Anderson, C.J., Y.V. Tverdova (2003), “Corruption, Political Allegiances, and Attitudes Toward Government in Contemporary Democracies”, American Journal of Political Science, 47(1), 91-109.
  • Avery, J.M. (2006), “The Sources and Consequences of Political Mistrust Among African Americans”, American Politics Research, 34(5), 653-682.
  • Avery, J.M. (2009), “Political Mistrust Among African Americans and Support For the Political System”, Political Research Quarterly, 62(1), 132-145.
  • Aydın, A., Cenker, C. I. (2012), “Public Confidence in Government: Empirical Implications From a Developing Democracy”, International Political Science Review, 33(2), 230-250.
  • Aytaç, S.E., A. Çarkoglu, G. Ertan (2017), “Türkiye'de Kisilerarasi Sosyal Güven ve Bireysel Belirleyicileri” METU Studies in Development, 44(1), 1.
  • Brehm, J., W. Rahn (1997), “Individual-Level Evidence For the Causes and Consequences of Social Capital”, American Journal of Political Science, 999-1023.
  • Christensen, T., P. Lægreid (2005), “Trust in Government: The Relative Importance of Service Satisfaction, Political Factors, And Demography”, Public Performance & Management Review, 28(4), 487-511.
  • Cleary, M.R., S. Stokes (2009), Democracy and the Culture of Skepticism: The Politics of Trust in Argentina and Mexico. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.
  • Çarkoğlu, A. (2007), “The Nature of Left–Right Ideological Self-Placement in the Turkish Context”, Turkish Studies, 8(2), 253–71.
  • Çarkoğlu, A. (2012), “Economic Evaluations Vs. Ideology: Diagnosing the Sources of Electoral Change in Turkey, 2002-2011”, Electoral Studies 31, 513-521.
  • Dalager, J.K. (1996), “Voters, Issues, and Elections: Are the Candidates’ Messages Getting Through?”, Journal of Politics, 58(2), 486–515.
  • Esmer, Y. (1999), Devrim, Evrim, Statüko: Türkiye’de Sosyal, Siyasal, Ekonomik Değerler, Istanbul: TESEV.
  • Hetherington, M.J. (1998), “The Political Relevance of Political Trust”, American Political Science Review, 92(4), 791-808.
  • Hetherington, M.J., J.A. Husser (2012), “How Trust Matters: The Changing Political Relevance of Political Trust”, American Journal of Political Science, 56(2), 312-325.
  • Hutchison, M.L., K. Johnson (2011), “Capacity to Trust? Institutional Capacity, Conflict, and Political Trust in Africa, 2000–2005”, Journal of Peace Research, 48(6), 737-752.
  • Inglehart, R. (1999), “Postmodernization Erodes Respect for Authority But Increases Support for Democracy”, in P. Norris (ed.), Critical Citizens: Global Support for Democratic Government, OUP: Oxford.
  • Inglehart, R., C. Haerpfer, A. Moreno, C. Welzel, K. Kizilova, J. Diez-Medrano, M. Lagos, P. Norris, E. Ponarin, B. Puranan (2014), World Values Survey: Round Six (Dünya Değerler Araştırması: Altıncı Tur). Madrid: JD Systems Institute.
  • Johnson, I. (2005), “Political Trust in Societies Under Transformation: A Comparative Analysis of Poland and Ukraine”, International Journal of Sociology, 35(2), 63-84.
  • Kaasa, A., Parts, E. (2008), “Individual-Level Determinants of Social Capital in Europe: Differences Between Country Groups”, Acta Sociologica, 51, 145–168.
  • Karakoç, E. (2013), “Ethnicity and Trust in National and International Institutions: Kurdish Attitudes Toward Political Institutions in Turkey”, Turkish Studies, 14(1), 92-114.
  • Kekkonen, E., P. Söderlund (2016), “Political Trust, Individual-Level Characteristics and Institutional Performance: Evidence from Finland, 2004–13”, Scandinavian Political Studies, 39(2), 138-160.
  • Knack, S., P. Keefer (1997), “Does Social Capital Have an Economic Payoff? A Cross-country Investigation”, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 112(4), 1251-1288.
  • McAllister, I. (1999), “The Economic Performance of Governments”, in P. Norris (ed.), Critical Citizens: Global Support for Democratic Government, Oxford: OUP.
  • Miller, A., O. Listhaug (1999), “Political Performance and Institutional Trust”, in P. Norris (ed.), Critical Citizens: Global Support for Democratic Government, Oxford: OUP.
  • Mishler, W., R. Rose (2001), “What Are the Origins of Political Trust? Testing Institutional and Cultural Theories in Post-Communist Societies”, Comparative political Studies, 34(1), 30-62.
  • Nannestad, P. (2007), “What Have We Learned About Generalized Trust, If Anything?”, Annu. Rev. Polit. Sci., 11, 413-436.
  • Newton, K. (1999), “Social and Political Trust in Established Democracies”, in P. Norris (ed.), Critical Citizens: Global Support for Democratic Government, OUP: Oxford.
  • Newton, K., P. Norris (2000), “Confidence in Public Institutions: Faith, Culture, or Performance?” In S. Pharr and R. Putnam, (eds), Disaffected Democracies, Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
  • Norris, P. (1999a), “Introduction: the Growth of Critical Citizens?”, in P. Norris (ed.), Critical Citizens: Global Support for Democratic Government, OUP: Oxford.
  • Norris, P. (1999b), “Institutional Explanations for Political Support”, in P. Norris (ed.), Critical Citizens: Global Support for Democratic Government, Oxford: OUP.
  • Putnam, R.D. (1993), “The Prosperous Community”, The American Prospect, 4(13), 35-42.
  • Putnam, R.D. (1995), “Bowling Alone: America's Declining Social Capital”, Journal of Democracy, 6(1), 65-78.
  • Rahn, W.M., T.J. Rudolph (2005), “A Tale of Political Trust in American Cities”, Public Opinion Quarterly, 69(4), 530-560.
  • Scholz, J.T., M. Lubell (1998), “Trust and Taxpaying: Testing the Heuristic Approach to Collective Action”, American Journal of Political Science, 398-417.
  • Soroka, S., S. McAdams (2015), “News, Politics, and Negativity”, Political Communication, 32(1), 1-22.
  • Stoyan, A.T., S. Niedzwiecki, J. Morgan, J. Hartlyn, R. Espinal (2016), “Trust in Government Institutions: The Effects of Performance and Participation in the Dominican Republic and Haiti”, International Political Science Review, 37(1), 18-35.
  • Whitely, P.F. (1999), “The Origins of Social Capital”, Social Capital and European Democracy, In Van Deth, J., Maraffi M., Newton, K., Whiteley, P., Social Capital and European Democracy, London: Routledge, 25–44.