Comportamiento electoral de los turcos en los estados del CCG en el contexto de las relaciones Turco-Golfoanas
| Autor | Sinem Cengiz |
| Cargo | Research Assistant, Qatar University - Gulf Studies Center (Qatar). |
| Páginas | 145-167 |
Voting Behavior of Turks in the GCC
States within the Context of Turkish-
Gulf Relations
Sinem Cengiz*
* Research Assistant, Qatar University - Gulf Studies Center (Qatar). [sinem.cengiz@qu.edu.qa]; [https://orcid.
org/0000-0001-9526-8728].
Recibido: 11 de agosto de 2023 / Modificado: 25 de septiembre de 2023 / Aceptado: 27 de septiembre de 2023
Para citar este artículo:
Cengiz, S. Voting Behavior of Turks in the GCC States within the Context of Turkish-Gulf Relations. Oasis, 39, 145-167.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.18601/16577558.n39.09
ABSTRACT
Recent years have seen a growing scholarly in-
terest in the electoral participation of Turkish
citizens living abroad. Despite an existing body
of literature on the Turkish diaspora, which is
predominantly Eurocentric in nature, there has
been a noticeable lack of consistent research
into the voting behavior of Turkish expatri-
ates residing in the Gulf Cooperation Council
(GCC) states with regard to their participation
in home country elections. In this article, I
delve into the voting patterns of Turkish expa-
triates living in the GCC states, with a specic
focus on their political interests, party prefer-
ences, and ideological-religious perspectives
within the context of Turkish-Gulf relations.
Unlike Turkish expatriates in European states,
who have tended to support conservative-na-
tionalist parties, Turkish citizens residing in the
conservative GCC states exhibited a preference
for left wing-oriented parties in elections held
between 2014 and 2018. However, there has
been a subtle shift in this trend in the 2023
presidential and parliamentary elections, with
some Turkish expatriates in the GCC states
leaning toward the ruling alliance. What might
be the potential factors inuencing this change
in voting behavior among certain Turks in the
GCC states? I argue that the drivers behind this
shift may be related to both the demographic
prole of Turks residing in the GCC states as
well as the impact of the Turkish foreign policy
towards the broader Middle East, particularly
concerning the GCC states.
Key words: Persian Gulf; Turkey; na-
tional elections; Turkish expatriates; voting
behavior.
146
OASIS, ISSN: 1657-7558, E-ISSN: 2346-2132, N° 39, Enero - Junio de 2024, pp. 145-167
Sinem Cengiz
COMPORTAMIENTO ELECTORAL
DE LOS TURCOS EN LOS ESTADOS
DEL CCG EN EL CONTEXTO DE LAS
RELACIONES TURCOGOLFOANAS
RESUMEN
En los últimos años se ha visto un creciente in-
terés académico en la participación electoral de
los ciudadanos turcos que viven en el extranjero.
A pesar de que existe un cuerpo de literatura so-
bre la diáspora turca, que es predominantemen-
te de naturaleza eurocéntrica, ha habido una
notable falta de investigación consistente sobre
el comportamiento electoral de los expatriados
turcos que residen en los Estados del Consejo
de Cooperación del Golfo (CCG) con respecto
a su participación en elecciones de su país de
origen. En este artículo se profundiza en los pa-
trones de votación de los expatriados turcos que
viven en los Estados del CCG, con un enfoque
especíco en sus intereses políticos, preferencias
partidistas y perspectivas ideológico-religiosas
dentro del contexto de las relaciones entre Tur-
quía y el Golfo. A diferencia de los expatriados
turcos en los Estados europeos, que han tendido
a apoyar a los partidos nacionalistas conserva-
dores, los ciudadanos turcos que residen en los
Estados conservadores del CCG mostraron una
preferencia por los partidos de izquierda en las
elecciones celebradas entre 2014 y 2018. Sin
embargo, ha habido un cambio sutil en esta
tendencia en las elecciones presidenciales y par-
lamentarias de 2023, con algunos expatriados
turcos en los Estados del CCG inclinándose
hacia la alianza gobernante. ¿Cuáles podrían
ser los factores potenciales que inuyen en este
cambio en el comportamiento electoral entre
ciertos turcos en los Estados del CCG? Se sos-
tiene que los impulsores detrás de este cambio
pueden estar relacionados tanto con el perl
demográco de los turcos que residen en los
Estados del CCG como con el impacto de la
política exterior turca hacia el Medio Oriente
en general, particularmente en lo que respecta
a los Estados del CCG.
Palabras clave: Golfo Pérsico; Turquía;
elecciones nacionales; expatriados turcos;
comportamiento de votación.
INTRODUCTION
Over the last two decades, the topic of diaspora
and their electoral participation has grown in
interest both politically and scholarly. ere
is an ever-expanding body of literature on di-
aspora politics that focuses on state policies to
engage with its citizens living abroad. In the
Turkish context, the country has developed a
proactive diaspora engagement policy during
the last decade. Turkey has a population of over
80 million, while Turkish citizens living abroad
number around 7 million, with the majority
(90 percent approximately) living in European
states. A considerable number of these people
hold Turkish citizenship which gives them the
right to vote in elections. e 2014 presidential
elections, which replaced the country’s par-
liamentary system with a presidential model,
were the rst elections in which expatriates
were able to vote from the states they reside in.
Even though the expatriate vote does not make
a huge dierence in election outcomes, their
voting preferences tell us a lot about how Turks
living outside think about Turkish politics and
the future of their country.
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