Pelin Ayan Musil
Biographic Data
| ID | 1472172 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Pelin Ayan Musil |
| GIVEN NAMES | Pelin Ayan |
| FAMILY NAME | Musil |
| SIGNATURE | MUSIL P A |
| AFFILIATIONS | Anglo-American University |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-6222-0848 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 16 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 82 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 16 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2010 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Determinants of political polarisation in the context of democratic renewal: A study of public attitudes in Poland
This article examines the dynamics of political polarisation in Poland in the context of democratic backsliding (2015–2023) and subsequent democratic renewal following the 2023 parliamentary elections. Drawing on newly released ActEU public opinion data, we demonstrate that the primary driver of polarisation during Poland’s democratic renewal was not the division between democratic and autocratic attitudes but rather a deep cultural conflict betw…
How incumbents create uneven patterns of competition during autocratization: The AKP case of Turkey
This article explains the survival of the AKP in Turkey’s late stage of autocratization (2017-present) through its strategy of shifting the primary drivers of competition from individual parties to pre-electoral alliances. Confronted with a decline in popular support in 2015 June elections, the article argues that the AKP created uneven patterns of competition via the system of pre-electoral alliances so that it could institutionalize a ‘Rikerian…
Transnationalization of Opposition Strategy under Competitive Authoritarianism: Evidence from Turkey and Hungary
Despite a growing body of literature on the advancement of autocratic tactics and toolkits in competitive authoritarian regimes (CARs), we lack sufficient knowledge on the strategies that the opposition builds against populist-authoritarian governments. Using two top autocratizing cases – Turkey and Hungary – this article singles out ‘transnationalization’ as one such novel strategy. ‘Transnationalization’ is defined as a strategy through which o…
How opposition parties unite in competitive authoritarian regimes: The Role of an Intermediary Party
This article contributes to the growing body of literature on opposition coordination within competitive authoritarian regimes (CARs). Defining oppositional unity as the ability of key opposition parties to select one joint candidate for elections, it introduces the concept of an intermediary party that facilitates such unity. An intermediary party is perceived less threatening by other opposition parties in their opportunistic and ideological co…
The AKP’s Appeal to the Kurdish Vote in Turkey: Exploring the Role of an Outsider Party Identity
In the early 2000s, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) rose to power by contesting the electoral dominance of pro-Kurdish parties in the Kurdish-majority provinces of Turkey. The existing literature has accounted for the AKP's popularity among the Kurdish population by providing three distinct perspectives: economic performance, the use of ‘Islam as cement,’ and pledges to safeguard the ethnic rights of the Kurds as a ruling party. This arti…
Regime trajectories of Tunisia and Turkey: A comparative analysis
Both Turkey and Tunisia have attracted significant attention regarding their democratization and religious politics. While Turkey was considered a successful case of blending Islam and democracy in the decade of 2000s, it plunged into autocratization in the following decade. Tunisia became the only Arab spring country to go through democratic transition between 2011 and 2015 but 6 years later, an elected president grabbed power over the democrati…
Protester-police fraternization in the 2013 Gezi Park uprisings
The 2013 Gezi protests still remain the largest to have arisen in the AKP era of governance in Turkey. In light of substantial interdisciplinary attention attributed to this case, this study analyses a previously neglected, yet salient activist strategy known as fraternization that arose during protester-police interactions. We argue that when entrapped in situations marked by confrontational tension with police, protesters strategically attempt …
Pro-Rebel Party Behavior during Civil Wars: The Case of the Pro-Kurdish Parties in Turkey
While the literature on rebel-to-party transformation focused on formation of parties at the end of civil wars, in this study, we address the phenomenon of a political party that co-exists alongside a rebel group during a lengthy civil war. We define this party as a ‘pro-rebel party,’ which is constrained by the rebel group but adheres to the legal order by offering candidates in elections. Based on the case of pro-Kurdish parties in Turkey, we a…
Resistance and Military Defection in Turkey
Turkey has experienced a heterogeneous collection of social movements and protests. While scholars have given substantial attention to coups in this context, it remains unclear if the Turkish Armed Forces have ever defected in favour of civilian mobilization during periods of political instability. In large-N databases on defection, cases in Turkey are either disproportionately skewed towards coups or are fully absent of observations on defection…
Revisiting the Concept of Moderation in the Age of Populism: The akp case of Turkey
This article presents the case of Turkey within the framework of this special issue entitled “On Islamist Parties and the Inclusion-Moderation Hypothesis”. I argue that rather than a distinction between the concepts of “tactical” and “ideological” moderation that the literature talks about, a distinction between the concepts of an “inclusionary-populist” and “moderate Islamist” party could provide a more useful insight over the role of Islamist a…
Party regulation in Turkey: A comparison with modern Europe
The Turkish party law (TPL) has thus far been studied only in isolation. We do not have any knowledge of where it stands compared to other party laws. This study fills this gap by comparing the TPL with other European party laws. It codes the TPL according to the categories of party regulation that exists in the current literature and finds that the TPL is the third-most heavily regulated party law in Europe. While it is particularly keen on regu…
Types of outcomes in factional rivalries: Lessons from non-democratic parties in Turkey
In non-democratic parties, oppositional factions have difficulty making inroads to the top executive party organs. There are two consequences for these groups: party split or leadership removal. In the former case, the oppositional faction exits and establishes its own party. In the latter, the opposition succeeds in altering the balance of power by removing the leader and the party goes through change. This article suggests that the level of pow…
Czech Public Opinion on Turkey's Accession to the EU: An Analysis through the Lenses of Sociological and Discursive Institutionalism
While Turkey lacks significant levels of public support from the Czech Republic in its EU bid, the existing studies of European public opinion on the question of Turkey do not bring any reasonable explanation as to why this can be so. To shed light on this problem, this article offers an analytical framework derived from sociological and discursive institutionalism. First, it shows that the historical/cultural context in the Czech Republic has cr…
Zones of rebellion: Kurdish insurgents and the Turkish state. By Aysegul Aydin and Cem Emrence
As the 30-year-long conflict between the Turkish state and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) reaches a new peak, Zones of rebellion offers an ideal read for those wanting to understand the origins, escalation and transformation of the conflict. What makes this book distinct among studies of the Kurdish question is its focus on the process of the conflict and the effective role of violence, instead of pre-conflict explanations of the issue. The s…
Emergence of a Dominant Party System After Multipartyism: Theoretical Implications from the Case of the AKP in Turkey
This study aims to provide insights into how and why a dominant party system emerges after an era of multipartyism. Conceptualising the emergence phase of a dominant party system within the framework of Sartori's 'predominant party system', it elaborates the causal weight of different theories within the Turkish context through a comparative-historical analysis. Comparing the case of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) with the Justice Party …
Authoritarian Party Structures in Turkey: A Comparison of the Republican People's Party and the Justice and Development Party
Authoritarianism within party structures is recognized as a central feature of all political parties in Turkey but used in a taken‐for‐granted manner. This article highlights the necessity to examine the power relationship between the central and local party actors and argues that the different incentive structures within political parties lead to different types of party authoritarianism. Comparing the incentive structures of the Republican Peop…
Emergence of a Dominant Party System After Multipartyism: Theoretical Implications from the Case of the AKP in Turkey
This study aims to provide insights into how and why a dominant party system emerges after an era of multipartyism. Conceptualising the emergence phase of a dominant party system within the framework of Sartori's 'predominant party system', it elaborates the causal weight of different theories within the Turkish context through a comparative-historical analysis. Comparing the case of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) with the Justice Party …
Authoritarian Party Structures in Turkey: A Comparison of the Republican People's Party and the Justice and Development Party
Authoritarianism within party structures is recognized as a central feature of all political parties in Turkey but used in a taken‐for‐granted manner. This article highlights the necessity to examine the power relationship between the central and local party actors and argues that the different incentive structures within political parties lead to different types of party authoritarianism. Comparing the incentive structures of the Republican Peop…
Transnationalization of Opposition Strategy under Competitive Authoritarianism: Evidence from Turkey and Hungary
Despite a growing body of literature on the advancement of autocratic tactics and toolkits in competitive authoritarian regimes (CARs), we lack sufficient knowledge on the strategies that the opposition builds against populist-authoritarian governments. Using two top autocratizing cases – Turkey and Hungary – this article singles out ‘transnationalization’ as one such novel strategy. ‘Transnationalization’ is defined as a strategy through which o…
How opposition parties unite in competitive authoritarian regimes: The Role of an Intermediary Party
This article contributes to the growing body of literature on opposition coordination within competitive authoritarian regimes (CARs). Defining oppositional unity as the ability of key opposition parties to select one joint candidate for elections, it introduces the concept of an intermediary party that facilitates such unity. An intermediary party is perceived less threatening by other opposition parties in their opportunistic and ideological co…
Types of outcomes in factional rivalries: Lessons from non-democratic parties in Turkey
In non-democratic parties, oppositional factions have difficulty making inroads to the top executive party organs. There are two consequences for these groups: party split or leadership removal. In the former case, the oppositional faction exits and establishes its own party. In the latter, the opposition succeeds in altering the balance of power by removing the leader and the party goes through change. This article suggests that the level of pow…
Protester-police fraternization in the 2013 Gezi Park uprisings
The 2013 Gezi protests still remain the largest to have arisen in the AKP era of governance in Turkey. In light of substantial interdisciplinary attention attributed to this case, this study analyses a previously neglected, yet salient activist strategy known as fraternization that arose during protester-police interactions. We argue that when entrapped in situations marked by confrontational tension with police, protesters strategically attempt …
Resistance and Military Defection in Turkey
Turkey has experienced a heterogeneous collection of social movements and protests. While scholars have given substantial attention to coups in this context, it remains unclear if the Turkish Armed Forces have ever defected in favour of civilian mobilization during periods of political instability. In large-N databases on defection, cases in Turkey are either disproportionately skewed towards coups or are fully absent of observations on defection…
Revisiting the Concept of Moderation in the Age of Populism: The akp case of Turkey
This article presents the case of Turkey within the framework of this special issue entitled “On Islamist Parties and the Inclusion-Moderation Hypothesis”. I argue that rather than a distinction between the concepts of “tactical” and “ideological” moderation that the literature talks about, a distinction between the concepts of an “inclusionary-populist” and “moderate Islamist” party could provide a more useful insight over the role of Islamist a…
Czech Public Opinion on Turkey's Accession to the EU: An Analysis through the Lenses of Sociological and Discursive Institutionalism
While Turkey lacks significant levels of public support from the Czech Republic in its EU bid, the existing studies of European public opinion on the question of Turkey do not bring any reasonable explanation as to why this can be so. To shed light on this problem, this article offers an analytical framework derived from sociological and discursive institutionalism. First, it shows that the historical/cultural context in the Czech Republic has cr…
Authoritarian Party Structures in Turkey: A Comparison of the Republican People's Party and the Justice and Development Party
Authoritarianism within party structures is recognized as a central feature of all political parties in Turkey but used in a taken‐for‐granted manner. This article highlights the necessity to examine the power relationship between the central and local party actors and argues that the different incentive structures within political parties lead to different types of party authoritarianism. Comparing the incentive structures of the Republican Peop…
Czech Public Opinion on Turkey's Accession to the EU: An Analysis through the Lenses of Sociological and Discursive Institutionalism
While Turkey lacks significant levels of public support from the Czech Republic in its EU bid, the existing studies of European public opinion on the question of Turkey do not bring any reasonable explanation as to why this can be so. To shed light on this problem, this article offers an analytical framework derived from sociological and discursive institutionalism. First, it shows that the historical/cultural context in the Czech Republic has cr…
Zones of rebellion: Kurdish insurgents and the Turkish state. By Aysegul Aydin and Cem Emrence
As the 30-year-long conflict between the Turkish state and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) reaches a new peak, Zones of rebellion offers an ideal read for those wanting to understand the origins, escalation and transformation of the conflict. What makes this book distinct among studies of the Kurdish question is its focus on the process of the conflict and the effective role of violence, instead of pre-conflict explanations of the issue. The s…
Emergence of a Dominant Party System After Multipartyism: Theoretical Implications from the Case of the AKP in Turkey
This study aims to provide insights into how and why a dominant party system emerges after an era of multipartyism. Conceptualising the emergence phase of a dominant party system within the framework of Sartori's 'predominant party system', it elaborates the causal weight of different theories within the Turkish context through a comparative-historical analysis. Comparing the case of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) with the Justice Party …
Types of outcomes in factional rivalries: Lessons from non-democratic parties in Turkey
In non-democratic parties, oppositional factions have difficulty making inroads to the top executive party organs. There are two consequences for these groups: party split or leadership removal. In the former case, the oppositional faction exits and establishes its own party. In the latter, the opposition succeeds in altering the balance of power by removing the leader and the party goes through change. This article suggests that the level of pow…
Party regulation in Turkey: A comparison with modern Europe
The Turkish party law (TPL) has thus far been studied only in isolation. We do not have any knowledge of where it stands compared to other party laws. This study fills this gap by comparing the TPL with other European party laws. It codes the TPL according to the categories of party regulation that exists in the current literature and finds that the TPL is the third-most heavily regulated party law in Europe. While it is particularly keen on regu…
Pro-Rebel Party Behavior during Civil Wars: The Case of the Pro-Kurdish Parties in Turkey
While the literature on rebel-to-party transformation focused on formation of parties at the end of civil wars, in this study, we address the phenomenon of a political party that co-exists alongside a rebel group during a lengthy civil war. We define this party as a ‘pro-rebel party,’ which is constrained by the rebel group but adheres to the legal order by offering candidates in elections. Based on the case of pro-Kurdish parties in Turkey, we a…
Resistance and Military Defection in Turkey
Turkey has experienced a heterogeneous collection of social movements and protests. While scholars have given substantial attention to coups in this context, it remains unclear if the Turkish Armed Forces have ever defected in favour of civilian mobilization during periods of political instability. In large-N databases on defection, cases in Turkey are either disproportionately skewed towards coups or are fully absent of observations on defection…
Revisiting the Concept of Moderation in the Age of Populism: The akp case of Turkey
This article presents the case of Turkey within the framework of this special issue entitled “On Islamist Parties and the Inclusion-Moderation Hypothesis”. I argue that rather than a distinction between the concepts of “tactical” and “ideological” moderation that the literature talks about, a distinction between the concepts of an “inclusionary-populist” and “moderate Islamist” party could provide a more useful insight over the role of Islamist a…
Protester-police fraternization in the 2013 Gezi Park uprisings
The 2013 Gezi protests still remain the largest to have arisen in the AKP era of governance in Turkey. In light of substantial interdisciplinary attention attributed to this case, this study analyses a previously neglected, yet salient activist strategy known as fraternization that arose during protester-police interactions. We argue that when entrapped in situations marked by confrontational tension with police, protesters strategically attempt …
The AKP’s Appeal to the Kurdish Vote in Turkey: Exploring the Role of an Outsider Party Identity
In the early 2000s, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) rose to power by contesting the electoral dominance of pro-Kurdish parties in the Kurdish-majority provinces of Turkey. The existing literature has accounted for the AKP's popularity among the Kurdish population by providing three distinct perspectives: economic performance, the use of ‘Islam as cement,’ and pledges to safeguard the ethnic rights of the Kurds as a ruling party. This arti…
Regime trajectories of Tunisia and Turkey: A comparative analysis
Both Turkey and Tunisia have attracted significant attention regarding their democratization and religious politics. While Turkey was considered a successful case of blending Islam and democracy in the decade of 2000s, it plunged into autocratization in the following decade. Tunisia became the only Arab spring country to go through democratic transition between 2011 and 2015 but 6 years later, an elected president grabbed power over the democrati…
How incumbents create uneven patterns of competition during autocratization: The AKP case of Turkey
This article explains the survival of the AKP in Turkey’s late stage of autocratization (2017-present) through its strategy of shifting the primary drivers of competition from individual parties to pre-electoral alliances. Confronted with a decline in popular support in 2015 June elections, the article argues that the AKP created uneven patterns of competition via the system of pre-electoral alliances so that it could institutionalize a ‘Rikerian…
Transnationalization of Opposition Strategy under Competitive Authoritarianism: Evidence from Turkey and Hungary
Despite a growing body of literature on the advancement of autocratic tactics and toolkits in competitive authoritarian regimes (CARs), we lack sufficient knowledge on the strategies that the opposition builds against populist-authoritarian governments. Using two top autocratizing cases – Turkey and Hungary – this article singles out ‘transnationalization’ as one such novel strategy. ‘Transnationalization’ is defined as a strategy through which o…
How opposition parties unite in competitive authoritarian regimes: The Role of an Intermediary Party
This article contributes to the growing body of literature on opposition coordination within competitive authoritarian regimes (CARs). Defining oppositional unity as the ability of key opposition parties to select one joint candidate for elections, it introduces the concept of an intermediary party that facilitates such unity. An intermediary party is perceived less threatening by other opposition parties in their opportunistic and ideological co…
Determinants of political polarisation in the context of democratic renewal: A study of public attitudes in Poland
This article examines the dynamics of political polarisation in Poland in the context of democratic backsliding (2015–2023) and subsequent democratic renewal following the 2023 parliamentary elections. Drawing on newly released ActEU public opinion data, we demonstrate that the primary driver of polarisation during Poland’s democratic renewal was not the division between democratic and autocratic attitudes but rather a deep cultural conflict betw…
Political science (14 works) · Law (13 works) · Politics (13 works) · Sociology (13 works) · Turkey's Politics and Society (13 works) · Law (12 works) · Political Conflict and Governance (12 works) · Political economy (12 works) · Democracy (7 works) · Populism, Right-Wing Movements (5 works)