This study investigates the 2023 Turkish elections through a post-foundational perspective on populism, examining how Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu strategically used emotions to mobilize voters and shape their political narratives regarding Syrian refugees and asylum seekers in Turkey. Rather than adhering to the typical focus on Erdoğan (AKP), this research delivers a unique contribution by exploring Kılıçdaroğlu's (CHP) populist discourse as well. Erdoğan leaned on unifying emotions tied to cultural and religious heritage, while Kılıçdaroğlu used more divisive emotions to frame the refugee issue as a crisis. The research uses qualitative analysis of campaign speeches, public statements, and media content to create a thematic mapping of each candidate's discourse and conduct an emotional spectrum analysis. By framing the Turkish elections within the concept of 'dual populisms' for the first time, the research provides new insights into the dynamics of competing populist strategies in polarized political landscapes and offers a more balanced and multi-perspective examination of the Turkish context.
Erfan Fatehi (Tue,) studied this question.