Book Project

Research Question and Motivation

In an era of increasing political polarization, how do political parties strategically deploy candidates and their identities to win elections and navigate deeply divided electorates? This book investigates the electoral competition strategies of political party elites in Turkey—a country highly polarized along affective lines of secularism and Islamism—with a particular focus on how they utilize political symbols attached to both male and female aspirants' identities in candidate selection and campaign communication.

Using intersectionality as an analytical tool, the book explores how visual symbols signaling religiosity versus secularism (such as veiling status for women, and attire like mustaches/ties for men) and the content of campaign speeches are strategically employed. My central research question is: How do party elites leverage the symbolic aspects of candidates' identities (gender and religious/secular identities) to compete for and appeal to rival party voters who exhibit high negative partisanship, particularly in a context of entrenched religious and secular divides?

The motivation for this research is twofold. First, while candidate selection is crucial for electoral success, the nuanced ways parties use the symbolic capital of candidates' diverse identities, especially in relation to visual cues and discursive framing, remain underexplored. Second, in deeply polarized societies like Turkey, understanding how parties attempt to bridge or exploit these divides through strategic inclusion is critical for comprehending the dynamics of electoral competition and the nature of political representation. This book aims to unravel these complex strategies, offering insights into the instrumentalization of identity in contemporary politics.

Argument

My core argument is that political parties in polarized settings like Turkey engage in "symbolic leverage," strategically utilizing the visual and discursive markers of candidates' identities to appeal to specific segments of the electorate, particularly those alienated by the party's primary ideological stance. This is not limited to women's inclusion but extends to how male candidates are presented and how campaign rhetoric is tailored.

For a detailed statement about my book project, including its methodological approach and chapter outlines, please contact me directly. 

This book project builds upon preceding research, which was published in Politics & Gender and can be accessed via the link below.