Talk:
“A Portrait of Turkish Voters in 2025”
by
Kerem Yıldırım
Assistant Professor
Department of Political Science and Public Administration
Bilkent University, Ankara
kyildirim@bilkent.edu.tr
Date and Room Info
Thursday, September 25, 2025, 12:30 p.m.
A-130 (FEASS Building)
Abstract
This talk presents findings from an original nationally representative survey carried out in Turkey in June 2025. It will begin by introducing the dataset and outlining its scope before setting the results alongside earlier surveys conducted by Dr. Yıldırım and his associates. The 2025 survey taps into a broad spectrum of socio-demographic, attitudinal, and behavioral traits, describing who participates in politics and how Turkish voters position themselves in the political landscape. The talk will also introduce some new measures of polarization, political efficacy, and objective political knowledge. This talk aims not to test causal hypotheses or advance a theoretical argument but to provide a descriptive baseline for understanding voter profiles in Turkey. The data reveal an electorate marked by sharp differences and deep partisan divides. This is also the first survey to examine local politics and municipal government evaluations in the aftermath of Mayor İmamoğlu’s arrest in March 2025. It sheds light on how voters have interpreted the incumbent government’s stance against opposition-affiliated local governments and what these evaluations might signal for the future of local governance.
Short Bio
Kerem Yıldırım is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at Bilkent University. He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from Koç University in 2016. His research examines political parties and political behavior. He has published in journals such as Political Communication, Democratization, and Political Behavior. He is also co-editor of the book Continuity and Change in Turkish Politics (Routledge, 2024). More information about his research and CV is available at http://keremyildirim.com