SSCI Journals by Aylin Aydin-Cakir
Comparative Politics , 2024
Global Constitutionalism, 2023
Criticizing the insurance theory, this article asserts that to measure post-constitutional politi... more Criticizing the insurance theory, this article asserts that to measure post-constitutional political uncertainty, one should consider not only the power distribution among the 'political' actors but the power distribution among all actors involved in the constitutionmaking process, including the public and civil society. Comparing the constitution-making processes of the constitutions of Egypt (2012) and Tunisia (2014), this study presents the duration of the constitution-making process as an alternative measure of power distribution among all actors. The theoretical framework asserts that the long constitution-making process increases the possibility of deliberation at the public level. That will help to develop trust among polarized political actors and improve political actors' perception of the public as a credible control and constraint mechanism. This will ensure that the incoming government will respect the newly established institutions and lead to the establishment of an independent and powerful judiciary. In the second part of the article, to test this argument, I use a large dataset that covers information on the content and design processes of 140 countries' most recent constitutions adopted between 1945 and 2018. The empirical results indicate that as the duration of the constitution-making increases, the number of constitutional guarantees for judicial independence also increases.
Journal of European Public Policy, 2023
With the rise of populism, we frequently witness how elected governments try to limit judicial po... more With the rise of populism, we frequently witness how elected governments try to limit judicial power by using different means. Comparing the court-curbing policies used by the Fidesz government in Hungary and the PiS government in Poland, this study has two objectives. First, it aims to explain whether different court-curbing policies effect judicial independence differently. Using synthetic control method, I find that the predominant use of informal court-curbing policies erodes judicial independence much more extensively compared to the predominant use of formal court-curbing policies. The second objective is to provide and empirically test the causal explanation for this effect. I argue that when the incumbent tries to weaken the judiciary mostly through informal court-curbing, this might instigate public discontent and jeopardize the judiciary's legitimacy in the short run. However, when the government tries to restructure the judiciary via constitutional reforms, the legitimacy of the 'new' judicial system might not be questioned by the public. Supporting these hypotheses, the empirical results show that while the court-curbing attempts of the PiS government reduced public confidence in the judiciary by almost 15 percent, we do not see a significant decline in the Hungarian case where mostly formal court-curbing was used.
One of the most prominent explanations of the creation and maintenance of
independent judiciary ... more One of the most prominent explanations of the creation and maintenance of
independent judiciary is the “insurance theory” that proposes a positive relationship
between political competition and judicial independence. But, does
intense political competition inevitably lead to higher levels of judicial independence
across all types of democracies? Conducting a large-N cross-country
analysis over 97 democratic countries, this study shows that as democratic
quality across countries changes, the impact of political competition on judicial
independence changes as well. The empirical findings reveal that while in
advanced democracies high levels of political competition enhances judicial
independence, in developing democracies political competition significantly
hampers the independence of the courts.
This article explores the determinants of confidence in the Turkish government. We question wheth... more This article explores the determinants of confidence in the Turkish government. We question whether
confidence-related questions in mass surveys tap specific support for the incumbent government or tap
diffuse support for government as a democratic institution. For this purpose, sociocultural, performance, and
party explanations are tested. Four waves of the World Values Survey for Turkey are used as the data set.
The article finds that performance and party-based explanations are the most relevant. Turkish citizens place
greater emphasis on ‘government as the incumbent’ rather than on ‘government as a democratic institution’.
The analysis also reveals the changing influences of both performance and party-based explanations across
time, which points to the significance of context. Through a cross-country analysis, the viability of the
findings in the Turkish case are evaluated against those of other developing democracies.
This study argues that the proximity to a general election would affect the frequency of the oppo... more This study argues that the proximity to a general election would affect the frequency of the opposition parties’ referrals to the constitutional court. This effect is hypothesized to be conditioned on the opposition parties’ prediction of the upcoming election results. In order to test this theory, I constructed an original data set including all acts promulgated by Turkish Parliament and all cases that were brought to the constitutional court by the opposition parties during 1984-2011. The results show that once the opposition party believes that it will lose the election, it increases its referrals to the court as election approaches.
Apart from the studies that focus on public attitudes toward higher courts in advanced democracie... more Apart from the studies that focus on public attitudes toward higher courts in advanced democracies, we know little about the factors that can explain public confidence in the judiciary in a comparative setting. In this regard, the goal of this study is to explain whether, and to what extent, the country's level of democracy moderates the impact of political awareness on public confidence in the judiciary. This study uses hierarchical linear models to analyse the interaction between individual and country level factors by using the World Values Survey (2005–2009) data for 49 countries and various other data sources. Our empirical results show that in advanced democracies political awareness variables like education and political participation have a positive impact on public confidence in the judiciary, whereas in countries with weak levels of democracy higher political awareness leads to increased cynicism about the judiciary. These results suggest that a one-size-fits-all approach to explain confidence in the judiciary is not possible when we are dealing with a wide range of societies that vary in terms of many characteristics, both institutional and cultural.
The existing literature on Turkish foreign policy (TFP) asserts that under the rule of the Adalet... more The existing literature on Turkish foreign policy (TFP) asserts that under the rule of the Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (AKP), Turkey’s foreign policy shifted from caution and uni-dimensionality to relative activism and multi-dimensionality. This study aims to test these arguments through a systematic analysis of the international agreements ratified by the Turkish Parliament between 1984 and 2015. By looking at the number, content and signatory parties of these international agreements, it aims to empirically show the change in the activism, orientation and instruments of TFP. Using this original data set is not only used to trace the change under the AKP but also across all ruling governments that came to power between 1984 and 2015.
International Journal of Constitutional Law, 2018
Many scholars have asserted that in countries where one political party dominates the political
s... more Many scholars have asserted that in countries where one political party dominates the political
sphere, the likelihood of judges deciding against the government diminishes. Although
the underlying logic of this argument is quite appealing, it does not explain why in certain
cases judges ignore possible political retaliation and give anti-government decisions. Arguing
that judicial preferences and the political context under which judges operate are in constant
interaction, the goal of this article is to explain whether, and to what extent, the judges’ preferences
moderate the impact of political fragmentation on the court’s invalidation of laws.
The study uses an original data set including all decisions made by the Turkish Constitutional
Court between 1984 and 2010. The empirical findings show that while the court’s political
preferences vastly attenuate the impact of the political context on judicial behavior, its legal
preferences have a trivial moderating effect. To put it more specifically, the results show that
the effect of political fragmentation on judicial behavior highly decreases when there is a weak
political alignment between the court and the government enacting the law under review.
Moreover, the findings show that even under favorable political conditions for assertive behavior,
the judges abstain from annulling laws based on individual rights violations.
Public confidence in government: empirical implications from a developing democracy, 2012
This article explores the determinants of confidence in the Turkish government. We question wheth... more This article explores the determinants of confidence in the Turkish government. We question whether confidence-related questions in mass surveys tap specific support for the incumbent government or tap
diffuse support for government as a democratic institution. For this purpose, sociocultural, performance, and party explanations are tested. Four waves of the World Values Survey for Turkey are used as the data set.The article finds that performance and party-based explanations are the most relevant. Turkish citizens place greater emphasis on ‘government as the incumbent’ rather than on ‘government as a democratic institution’.The analysis also reveals the changing influences of both performance and party-based explanations across
time, which points to the significance of context. Through a cross-country analysis, the viability of the findings in the Turkish case are evaluated against those of other developing democracies.
Refereed Journals by Aylin Aydin-Cakir
Pamukkale University Journal of Social Sciences Institute, 2021
In recent years, a significant proliferation has been observed in the number of studies combining... more In recent years, a significant proliferation has been observed in the number of studies combining quantitative and qualitative methods in social sciences. This research strategy, defined as a mixed-method, requires a research design and theoretical framework that will enable the integration of different approaches in a single study, beyond the random use of qualitative and quantitative data. This article aims to put forward the principles of the application of mixed methods, which have an increasing weight in the literature and are accepted as the third main research method, with a comprehensive discussion. Following an introductory chapter on the definition, purpose, and advantages of the mixed method, different research designs on how the mixed method can be used will be discussed. These designs will be exemplified by studies from the field of political science and international relations. In the conclusion section, the criticisms directed to the mixed-method, and the difficulties that may be encountered in the application of the method will be emphasized. Thusly, a road map will be presented for researchers who are interested in the mixed method.
Marmara University Journal of Political Science, 2020
Is it possible to change the negative public attitudes towards refugees? Which factors reinforce ... more Is it possible to change the negative public attitudes towards refugees? Which factors reinforce such attitudinal changes? Since the refugee population is growing in many countries, finding answers to these questions has become even more important. By focusing on the Turkish context, this study has two specific objectives. First, we aim to find out how-and to what extent-the individual level of prejudice towards the Syrian refugees differs when the refugees are depicted in either empathy or threat-evoking conditions. Second, we try to show the interaction between personal dispositions (authoritarianism) and situational factors (threat-evoking condition) and their explanatory power on the individuals' prejudice towards the Syrian refugees. Towards this end, we conducted a survey-experiment with 120 university students in May 2016. The empirical results show that while empathy-evoking treatment leads to a decrease in prejudice, the threat-evoking one augments the biased attitudes towards the Syrian refugees. When the dispositional factors are included in the model, we observe that authoritarianism's interaction with threat-evoking treatment significantly effects the prejudice levels.
Ankara SBF Dergisi , 2020
Yargı bağımsızlığı üzerine yapılan bilimsel çalışmalarda iki farklı yargı bağımsızlığı kavramı ön... more Yargı bağımsızlığı üzerine yapılan bilimsel çalışmalarda iki farklı yargı bağımsızlığı kavramı ön plana çıkmaktadır. “De jure yargı bağımsızlığı” yargıçların görev ve yetkilerinin anayasal güvence altına alınmasını ifade ederken, uygulamadaki yargı bağımsızlığı da “de facto yargı bağımsızlığı” olarak ele alınmaktadır. Literatürde yargı bağımsızlığının anayasal güvence altına alınmasının uygulamadaki yargı bağımsızlığını etkileyip etkilemediğini sorgulamak önemli bir araştırma sorusu olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı da anayasada öngörülen yargı bağımsızlığının uygulamadaki yargı bağımsızlığını hangi şartlar altında etkileyebileceğine dair kuramsal bir model sunmaktır. Halkın yargıya duyduğu güven, sahip olduğu siyasal farkındalık ve demokratik değerler doğrultusunda de jure yargı bağımsızlığının de facto yargı bağımsızlığı üzerindeki etkisinin siyasal rejimler arasında farklılık göstermesi beklendiği bu çalışmanın temel savıdır. Bu doğrultuda, gelişmiş demokrasiler ve otoriter rejimlerde yargı bağımsızlığını anayasal güvence altına almanın uygulamadaki yargı bağımsızlığını anlamlı bir şekilde etkilemediği savunulurken, hibrit (melez, karma) rejimlerde halkın yargıya duyduğu güven, sahip olduğu demokratik değerler ve siyasal farkındalık arttıkça anayasal güvencelerin uygulamadaki yargı bağımsızlığını anlamlı bir şekilde etkilediği savunulmaktadır.
International Journal of Political Science and Urban Studies, 2019
Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (AKP) döneminde Türk dış politikasının seyri pek çok araştırmaya konu ... more Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi (AKP) döneminde Türk dış politikasının seyri pek çok araştırmaya konu olmuştur. Bu araştırmalar genellikle, bu dönem dış politikasında Ortadoğu'yla olan ilişkilerde bir artış ve bu ilişkilerde özellikle yumuşak güç kullanımına bir kayış olduğunu iddia etmektedirler. Bu araştırmaların temel savları ve bu savları destekleyen kanıtlar ikna edici olsa da Türkiye'nin dış politikasındaki değişimi sistematik ve bütüncül şekilde göstermekten uzak görünmektedir. Bu çalışmanın amacı AKP iktidarı döneminde Türkiye'nin Ortadoğu politikasında meydana gelen değişimin boyutları konusunda iddia edilen temel savları ampirik olarak test etmektir. Bu doğrultuda Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi'nde 1984 ve 2015 yılları arasında onaylanan uluslararası antlaşmalar imzacı taraflar, konu ve içerik bakımından kodlanmış ve literatürdeki dört temel hipotez bu orijinal veri seti kullanılarak test edilmiştir. İlk olarak, çalışmada AKP hükümetiyle birlikte Ortadoğu ülkeleriyle olan ilişkilerde bir yükselme olup olmadığı irdelenmiştir. Ardından, sert güç kullanımından yumuşak güç kullanımına bir kayma olup olmadığı araştırılmış ve varsa hangi yumuşak güç aracının daha çok kullanıldığı ampirik olarak gösterilmiştir. Son olarak, Türkiye'nin Ortadoğu bölgesine yönelik politikasında farklı AKP hükümetleri boyunca dönemsel bir değişim olup olmadığı ortaya konulmuştur. Çalışmanın bulguları literatürde var olan hipotezleri kısmı olarak desteklemektedir. İlk olarak, veriler, AKP döneminde Ortadoğu ülkeleriyle ilişkilerde sayısal olarak bir artışı işaret ediyor olsa da bu artışın diğer bölgelerle olan ilişkilerle orantılandığında birinci ve ikinci AKP hükümetlerinin birinci ANAP hükümetinin
Books by Aylin Aydin-Cakir
Converging Dialogues: Interactive Conflict Resolution and Turkey's Headscarf Conflict
Interactive Conflict Resolution (ICR) approaches are non-official methods suggesting that sustain... more Interactive Conflict Resolution (ICR) approaches are non-official methods suggesting that sustained interaction among the adversaries can pave the way to the resolution of protracted inter-group conflicts. The objective of this study is to conduct an assessment of Turkey's headscarf conflict in the context of Islamic and Kemalist CSOs. Based on this assessment, conditions that should be taken into consideration for a successful ICR intervention are indicated and the use of ICR approaches in this specific conflict is evaluated. The purpose of this endeavor is to explore whether ICR methods are appropriate to be used in Turkey's headscarf conflict and if so how to use them. The evaluation of the ICR approaches suggests that human needs, identity and transformation-oriented approaches are the most appropriate ones in addressing the underlying causes of the headscarf conflict. Concerning the resolution of the headscarf conflict, however, transformation-oriented approaches appear to be the most appropriate ones for an initial ICR intervention, while communal relations and communication based approaches seem to be appropriate for a subsequent intervention.
Chapters in Edited Books by Aylin Aydin-Cakir
Türkiye Siyasetinin Sınırları: Siyasal Davranış, Kurumlar ve Kültür, 2023
2 0. yüzyılın başından bu yana karşılaştırmalı siyaset bilimi alanında ortaya konan çalışmalara b... more 2 0. yüzyılın başından bu yana karşılaştırmalı siyaset bilimi alanında ortaya konan çalışmalara baktığımızda hem incelenen konular hem de kullanılan araştırma yöntemleri açısından alanın, yıllar içinde önemli değişimler geçirdiğini görüyoruz. Örneğin, 20. yüzyılın ilk yarısında kurumsalcılık (institutionalism) temel yaklaşım olarak benimsendi. Bu dönemde ortaya konan araştırmaların çoğu yasama, yürütme ve yargı gibi siyasal kurumların görev ve yetkilerini açıklamaya çalışmakta ve bunu yasal dokümanların analizi üzerinden yapmaktaydı. Çalışmaların çoğu, Amerika Birleşik Devletleri ve Batı Avrupa ülkeleri ile sınırlıydı. 1960'lı yıllarda ise bireylerin davranış ve tutumlarının ilgi odağı hâline gelmesiyle birlikte, siyaset biliminde davranışçılık (behavioralism) yaklaşımı etkili olmaya başladı. Anket yöntemi gibi görgül yöntemlerin kullanımı baskın hâle geldi ve istatistiksel analizlerin artmasıyla birlikte çok ülke karşılaştırmaları yaygınlaşmaya başladı. 1970 ve 1980'li yıllarda ise yeni kurumsalcılık (new institutionalism) ile birlikte yine siyasal kurumlar ön plana çıktı. Ancak bu sefer çok ülke karşılaştırmasından ziyade birkaç ülke karşılaştırmasına dayanan çalışmaların sayısı artmaya başladı. 20. yüzyılda karşılaştırmalı siyaset bilimi alanında gerçekleşen bu değişime karşılık son otuz yılda alanın yöntemsel açıdan nasıl bir değişim geçirdiği tam olarak bilinmemektedir. Bu bağlamda, Munck ve Snyder'ın (2007) alandaki gidişatı incelemek amacıyla yürüttükleri çalışmaları, karşılaştırmalı siyaset bilimi alanındaki yöntemsel değişim tartışmaları için önemli bir Karşılaştırmalı Siyaset Biliminde Araştırma Yöntemleri: Comparative Political Studies Dergisinin Analizi (1990-2020) * Aylin Aydın-Çakır, Duygu Merve Uysal (*) Bu çalışma Aylin Aydın-Çakır'ın Sabancı Üniversitesi'nde doktora öğrencisi olduğu 2009 yılında Prof. Dr. Ersin Kalaycıoğlu'ndan aldığı Karşılaştırmalı Yöntemler dersi için yapmış olduğu araştırmanın genişletilmiş hâlidir. Bu vesileyle Karşılaştırmalı Siyaset Biliminde incelenen konuların yanı sıra kullanılan yöntemlerin de ne kadar önemli olduğunu bizlere incelikle anlatan, bu yöntemlerin nasıl ve ne zaman kullanılması gerektiği konusunda bizlere yol gösteren Ersin Hocamıza şükranlarımızı sunarız.
High Courts in Global Perspective: Evidence , Methods and Findings (Eds. N. Garoupa, R. Gill & L. Tiede), 2021
To Democratize or Not? Trials and Tribulations in the Postcolonial World, 2020
Focusing on the post-Arab Spring period of the Middle East and North African (MENA) countries, A... more Focusing on the post-Arab Spring period of the Middle East and North African (MENA) countries, Aydin-Cakir and Uysal attempt to understand why the design of a weak and dependent judiciary in Egypt’s Constitution of 2014 is observed, whereas the formulation of an independent judiciary in Tunisia’s Constitution of 2014 appears to be quite successful. Arguing that the constitution-making processes affect the design of constitutions, Aydin-Cakir and Uysal use most similar system designs (MSSD) and conduct a systematic comparison of Egypt and Tunisia in terms of the constitution-making process and de jure judicial independence.
Papers by Aylin Aydin-Cakir
Court-curbing through legal reforms or coercion?
Edward Elgar Publishing eBooks, Nov 9, 2023
University of Virginia Press eBooks, Aug 13, 2021
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SSCI Journals by Aylin Aydin-Cakir
independent judiciary is the “insurance theory” that proposes a positive relationship
between political competition and judicial independence. But, does
intense political competition inevitably lead to higher levels of judicial independence
across all types of democracies? Conducting a large-N cross-country
analysis over 97 democratic countries, this study shows that as democratic
quality across countries changes, the impact of political competition on judicial
independence changes as well. The empirical findings reveal that while in
advanced democracies high levels of political competition enhances judicial
independence, in developing democracies political competition significantly
hampers the independence of the courts.
confidence-related questions in mass surveys tap specific support for the incumbent government or tap
diffuse support for government as a democratic institution. For this purpose, sociocultural, performance, and
party explanations are tested. Four waves of the World Values Survey for Turkey are used as the data set.
The article finds that performance and party-based explanations are the most relevant. Turkish citizens place
greater emphasis on ‘government as the incumbent’ rather than on ‘government as a democratic institution’.
The analysis also reveals the changing influences of both performance and party-based explanations across
time, which points to the significance of context. Through a cross-country analysis, the viability of the
findings in the Turkish case are evaluated against those of other developing democracies.
sphere, the likelihood of judges deciding against the government diminishes. Although
the underlying logic of this argument is quite appealing, it does not explain why in certain
cases judges ignore possible political retaliation and give anti-government decisions. Arguing
that judicial preferences and the political context under which judges operate are in constant
interaction, the goal of this article is to explain whether, and to what extent, the judges’ preferences
moderate the impact of political fragmentation on the court’s invalidation of laws.
The study uses an original data set including all decisions made by the Turkish Constitutional
Court between 1984 and 2010. The empirical findings show that while the court’s political
preferences vastly attenuate the impact of the political context on judicial behavior, its legal
preferences have a trivial moderating effect. To put it more specifically, the results show that
the effect of political fragmentation on judicial behavior highly decreases when there is a weak
political alignment between the court and the government enacting the law under review.
Moreover, the findings show that even under favorable political conditions for assertive behavior,
the judges abstain from annulling laws based on individual rights violations.
diffuse support for government as a democratic institution. For this purpose, sociocultural, performance, and party explanations are tested. Four waves of the World Values Survey for Turkey are used as the data set.The article finds that performance and party-based explanations are the most relevant. Turkish citizens place greater emphasis on ‘government as the incumbent’ rather than on ‘government as a democratic institution’.The analysis also reveals the changing influences of both performance and party-based explanations across
time, which points to the significance of context. Through a cross-country analysis, the viability of the findings in the Turkish case are evaluated against those of other developing democracies.
Refereed Journals by Aylin Aydin-Cakir
Books by Aylin Aydin-Cakir
Chapters in Edited Books by Aylin Aydin-Cakir
Papers by Aylin Aydin-Cakir