Religion and regional voting behaviour differences in Turkey, 2007–2018: a study of the AKP electoral base

Abstract

ABSTRACT With the Justice and Development Party dominating the elections in Turkey since 2002, the existing political cleavages between religious and secular segments of the population increasingly crystallized during the last two decades. This article investigates the mass support for the AKP at a juncture of religious activities and voting behaviour. To contextualize religious activities, this study utilizes a unique data set consisting of the indicators of religious activities collected from the Directorate of Religious Affairs at the province level between the general elections in Turkey. The findings show a significant relationship between all religious activities and voting for the Justice and Development Party nationwide. However, the relationship between voting behaviour and religious activities mitigates when considering regional differences. Results imply three different spatial cleavages in western, internal, and eastern regions, where the relationship between voting behaviour and the types of religious activities, as well as demographic variables, varies significantly.