Who wants rights?: Citizenship perceptions on rights and liberties and political party preferences in Turkey

Official URL: http://risc01.sabanciuniv.edu/record=b1857572 (Table of Contents)

This research investigates the perceptions of citizens on their rights and liberties in Turkey. These perceptions are delineated on the basis of the political party preferences. Through a survey influenced by the checklist questions of Freedom House reports and applied to a sample of individuals in İstanbul, data on perceptions on civil, political, and social citizenship rights are collected. The data is analyzed to assess to what extent perceptions on the current state of citizenship rights and liberties are differentiated with regards to political party preferences. The findings demonstrate that respondents with different political party preferences have distinct perceptions on the current state of their rights and liberties. While those who prefer the incumbent party consider civil liberties and political rights to be protected in Turkey, those who prefer opposition parties are critical of the current state of these rights and liberties. Perceptions on the government performance in delivering social services also demonstrate a similar distinction. The only instance where differences in political party preferences are not reflected in perceptions is the normative statements on social rights. This research sheds light on the segments of the electorate who carry the potential to voice demands for improvements of citizenship rights and liberties. Those who are outsiders of the official citizenship understanding and whose demands for inclusion are delegitimized are more likely to play an active role in pushing for improvements in citizenship rights and liberties.