Opposition Strategies Against Populist Exclusion in Turkey and Hungary

Authors

Dilara C. Hekimci, Florida International UniversityFollow

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Major/Program

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First Advisor's Name

Tatiana Kostadinova

First Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Chair

Second Advisor's Name

Eduardo Gamarra

Second Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Third Advisor's Name

Kyle Mattes

Third Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Fourth Advisor's Name

Milena Neshkova

Fourth Advisor's Committee Title

Committee Member

Keywords

Populism, Opposition, Turkey, Hungary

Date of Defense

4-17-2023

Abstract

Populism has garnered significant scholarly attention in recent decades, with the literature focusing on both the demand and supply sides of populism. However, few studies explore the significance of opposition when populists are in power. This dissertation investigates the opposition strategies to counter incumbent populist leaders in Turkey and Hungary, examining the challenges posed by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Viktor Orbán, respectively. By concentrating on the exclusionary aspect of populism, this study aims to analyze the challenges faced by opposition actors due to populist leaders' efforts to skew the playing field. To achieve this, populists in power exclude certain groups symbolically by using polarizing rhetoric, which reinforces the "us versus them" notion; politically by changing the constitution to limit the opposition's competitiveness; and materially through clientelism, such as dominating traditional media by promoting pro-government ownership to silence opposition voices. While inclusionary and exclusionary populism has been widely studied, few studies systematically scrutinize the opposition's strategies toward symbolic, political, and material exclusion. This dissertation contends that the opposition counters symbolic exclusion by employing non-polarizing discourses, political exclusion by forming broad alliances, and material exclusion by using the social media. By examining the dynamic relationship between populists and the opposition, this research seeks to fill the gap in the literature concerning the opposition's role in resisting populism, while also contributing to the literature on authoritarian successor parties within the opposition. The study employs a comparative analysis of Turkey and Hungary, focusing on right-wing populist parties, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Hungarian Civic Alliance (Fidesz). Additionally, the dissertation investigates how populist incumbents erode democracy and push their countries towards authoritarianism over time. To test the hypotheses, the dissertation utilizes case studies, online newspaper archives, existing datasets, an original Facebook dataset, and semi-structured interviews with opposition party officials and experts in the field.

Identifier

FIDC011087

ORCID

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4073-8985

Recommended Citation

Hekimci, Dilara C., "Opposition Strategies Against Populist Exclusion in Turkey and Hungary" (2023). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 5245.
https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/5245