More national less European? The comparison of the last two general elections in Turkey

Abstract

This article will examine how the media reported the 2011 election campaign in Turkey in comparison to the 2007 elections. In order to reflect the different ideological segments within the society (pro-secular nationalist vs religious-conservative) four newspapers - Zaman Cumhuriyet Hurriyet and Posta - are chosen. The empirical evidence suggests that there are similarities between the analysis of the 2011 elections and the previous research findings of the 2007 elections with regard to the topics garnered the main themes and the absence of the European Union-membership-related narratives. Yet we also observe a major difference in the 2011 elections. The themes of the contestation between competing party programmes values and issue positions have shifted away from the secularism and Islam to the daily politics such as the economic progress the military operations the terrorist attacks the corruption allegations and the Kurdish issue.