Individual Level Determinants of Electoral Turnout and Unconventional Political Participation in Turkey

Our understanding of individual level determinants of turnout and unconventional political participation in Turkey is limited due to lack of systematically collected micro level data. This study uses World Values Survey data on Turkey for years 1996, 2007, and 2011 to determine the factors associated with turnout and unconventional participation. Main explanatory frameworks such as the resource model, mobilization model, political trust, and policy preferences are tested in the Turkish case using quantitative methods. Education is associated negatively with turnout and positively with unconventional participation in all years. Political trust is consistently negatively associated with unconventional participation and positively associated with turnout in some years. Associational memberships are consistently positively associated with unconventional participation while the relationship is weaker for turnout. Among future policy preferences, economic stability is positively associated with turnout in 2007 and 2011, while protection of the freedom of expression is positively associated with unconventional participation in all years. Findings suggest that as education level increases and political trust decreases, turnout is less likely, while unconventional participation is more likely. Indicating economic stability as the principal policy aim increases the likelihood of turnout, while indicating the freedom of expression increases the likelihood of unconventional participation.