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<p>This article investigates how voters in Türkiye interpret the left–right political spectrum and Europe through the lens of symbolic and operational ideologies in a&#xa0;context of deep political polarization. Drawing on in-depth qualitative interviews with 45&#xa0;participants from diverse sociopolitical backgrounds, the study examines how abstract ideological categories function as meaning-laden identity markers rather than as stable policy coordinates. The analysis reveals a&#xa0;pronounced divide between supporters of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and opposition voters, particularly those aligned with the Republican People’s Party (CHP), while also highlighting important variation within these camps. Across both groups, symbolic ideology—anchored in cultural, historical, and moral narratives—consistently outweighs operational, issue-based preferences in shaping political identification and evaluations of Europe. On this basis, the study reconstructs analytically distinguishable patterns of ideological orientation that combine symbolic identification, system-related evaluations, and attitudes toward Europe. The article’s contribution lies in demonstrating how ideological polarization in democratic backsliding contexts is structured less by coherent policy preferences than by contested symbolic meanings attached to abstract political categories. By foregrounding voters’ interpretive practices, the study advances a&#xa0;qualitative framework for analyzing left–right identification and Euroskepticism that is applicable beyond the Turkish case to other polarized party systems.</p>

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Symbolic Ideology and Euroskepticism: A Comparative Analysis of Voter Perspectives in Türkiye

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年7月22日

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  • Can Büyükbay

摘要

This article investigates how voters in Türkiye interpret the left–right political spectrum and Europe through the lens of symbolic and operational ideologies in a context of deep political polarization. Drawing on in-depth qualitative interviews with 45 participants from diverse sociopolitical backgrounds, the study examines how abstract ideological categories function as meaning-laden identity markers rather than as stable policy coordinates. The analysis reveals a pronounced divide between supporters of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and opposition voters, particularly those aligned with the Republican People’s Party (CHP), while also highlighting important variation within these camps. Across both groups, symbolic ideology—anchored in cultural, historical, and moral narratives—consistently outweighs operational, issue-based preferences in shaping political identification and evaluations of Europe. On this basis, the study reconstructs analytically distinguishable patterns of ideological orientation that combine symbolic identification, system-related evaluations, and attitudes toward Europe. The article’s contribution lies in demonstrating how ideological polarization in democratic backsliding contexts is structured less by coherent policy preferences than by contested symbolic meanings attached to abstract political categories. By foregrounding voters’ interpretive practices, the study advances a qualitative framework for analyzing left–right identification and Euroskepticism that is applicable beyond the Turkish case to other polarized party systems.