Voter Sophistication and Voting Behavior in Türkiye

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Arıkan-Akdağ G., İnan M.

Fırat Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, sa.32/1, ss.293-302, 2025 (Hakemli Dergi)

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Basım Tarihi: 2025
  • Doi Numarası: 10.18069/firatsbed.1586628
  • Dergi Adı: Fırat Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: TR DİZİN (ULAKBİM)
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.293-302
  • Abdullah Gül Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

The objective of this study is to test MacDonald, Rabinowitz and Listhaug’s (1995) argument suggesting a link between voter sophistication and two models of spatial theory of party competition, the proximity model and the directional model. MacDonald and his colleagues argued that as the proximity model is more cognitively demanding than the directional one, it provides a more eligible formula for educated and politically knownledgeable voters. Although they did not find supporting evidence for their argument, we suggest that this may be due to their case selection and methodological preferences. We think that in a country, where there are striking implications of differences between education levels and there is high political knowledge, a different picture may emerge. It is also suggested here that an alternative measurement for political sophistication, which was constructed by the multiplication of education and actual political knowledge, would be a more objective and appropriate proxy for voter sophistication. In this research, 2015 round of Comparative Study of Election Systems (CSES) data for Türkiye were employed. The final dataset holds answers of 249 respondents, which are voters of the four most-voted political parties in Türkiye. The findings provide proofs largely confirming the MacDonald and his colleagues’ argument.