Responses of far right parties to refugees in hybrid regimes: the case of MHP in Turkey

Abstract

ABSTRACT Studies on far right party behaviour mostly focus on democracies. While valuable, they do not fully explain the behaviour of such parties in other regime settings. We argue that non-ruling parties in hybrid regimes, including far right parties, respond to topics like immigration differently from their counterparts in democracies. As an example, we explore the puzzling behaviour of the leading Turkish far right party, MHP, toward Syrian refugees in Turkey. We argue that MHP has prioritised ideological infiltration on policymaking over vote seeking on the issue, which can explain the divergence between the sentiments of its supporters and its behaviour. Aside from the literature on immigration, far right parties and Turkish politics, our discussions can contribute to the literature on nondemocratic regimes in general.