Prof. Deniz Ülke Arıboğan: "The most important feature of society is its shift from uncertainty to the status quo

Evaluating the presidential election results, Prof. Deniz Ülke Arıboğan said that no one on the ruling side questioned Erdoğan's political leadership, while on the opposition side, there was a hesitant situation. Arıboğan stated that the most important feature of the society is the shift from uncertainty to the status quo, adding that a very harsh nationalist reflex is seen in Türkiye and it is dispersed in all parties.

"It is time for an approach that will give hope and happiness to the opposition voters"

Üsküdar University Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences Dean, Advisor to the Rector, Department of Political Sciences and International Relations Instructor Prof. Deniz Ülke Arıboğan evaluated the results of the Presidential election.

The results are not unexpected

Prof. Deniz Ülke Arıboğan, who started her speech by stating that the results were not unexpected, said that "Recently, serious survey companies have started to catch similar results. Sinan Oğan's transition to the opposition front might have created a psychological motivation. However, that motivation was diminished when he switched to the side of the Republican Alliance. It has given a psychological impetus to the ruling front.”.

The most important feature of society is its shift from uncertainty to the status quo

Arıboğan, who emphasized that Erdoğan was a very strong and unquestioningly accepted political leader when evaluated in terms of the two alliances, said that "No member of the alliance opened Erdoğan's political leadership to question. Erdoğan is an experienced politician. There was a great clarity about that. On the other side, the most serious problem in my opinion was, 'Was he the candidate to win or not?’. There was a hesitant state that developed in the form of that. In such cases, society perceives that hesitation very quickly. The most important feature of society is that the spirit of the age is shifting from uncertainty to the status quo because of uncertainty.".

The sense of ownership of the homeland is present in the collective memory

Stating that Erdoğan has been representing the establishment for a long time, that is, the goverment, Prof. Deniz Ülke Arıboğan said that "There is more than a political party leader there. There were economic problems in Türkiye, there was an earthquake disaster and indeed there were very serious problems in the world, geopolitically and in the south. There were issues with Syria, Iraq and now it spread to the North. A warrior model developing through Ukraine, the formation and tension of interpolar conflicts all over the world... It becomes clear that there is a need for a strong leader in such periods. Political psychology usually looks at these. First, what are the traumas of society? Because social traumas are triggered by certain events. What accumulates in the collective memory is also beginning to appear. First of all, we should not forget this. The founding people of the Anatolian geography of this country are largely people from the Balkans, the Caucasus and the Crimea, who have lost their homeland and taken refuge in the motherland and have been expelled from their homeland. What you call the sense of ownership of the homeland is in that collective memory."

One side went for the sake of freedom and democracy, and the other for the love of the state, homeland and nation

Arıboğan said that “What emerges in all these campaign processes is; Erdoğan tried to trigger the reflex of protecting the government both as a representative of the state and as a guardian of that ideology.”, and continued her remarks as follows:

"'The homeland should not be lost; the government should not be lost. The main thing is the goverment, I call on all of you to protect the state." On the other hand, Kılıçdaroğlu's thesis was to protect freedoms, democracy and individual rights. In other words, one side went for the love of freedom and democracy, and the other side went for the love of the state, homeland and nation. That is the core of it.".

When the Berlin Wall came down, there was only a wall on the border of twelve countries, today it is ninety

Arıboğan stated that in environments where economic problems are few and there are not very high threats in the environment, the main issues of people are concepts such as human rights, democracy and freedom when the spirit of the time revolves around such concepts. Arıboğan said: "However, this is not today's conditions. That is not the spirit of this time. I have been saying for a long time that when the Berlin Wall came down, only twelve of the countries in the world had a wall on their borders. Today, ninety countries surround their borders with walls. In the period from 1989 to the present day, we are heading towards a place that is the exact opposite of that spirit that breaks down such national borders and paves the way for individual and civil rights. This naturally extends to Türkiye, as well. Therefore, I think that is the main motivation behind the voting behavior.” Noting that a very harsh nationalist reflex is currently seen in Türkiye, Arıboğan said: "The nationalist reflex has spread to all parties. The main thing is that such a nationalist reflex is coming out in different forms.”.

Conservative parties around the world are against immigrants

Stating that the issue of Syrians is a very sensitive issue for Türkiye, Arıboğan stated that "There is a supra-party agreement of more than 85 percent on refugees. It is a source of discomfort and it continues. It always remains an issue that will affect the voting process. However, it is interesting that nationalist and conservative parties are against immigrants everywhere in the world. However, the person who patronizes them here is the leader of the nationalist conservative group. You cannot hold down the people even if he opposes it. The masses who have reactions on this issue are constantly dropping this issue from their agenda out of respect or love for Erdogan.”.

It is time for an approach that will give hope and happiness to the opposition voters

Stating that 25 million people voted for the opposition as a result, Prof. Deniz Ülke Arıboğan concluded her remarks as follows: "It is not the time to talk and calculate with percentages, figures and make accepting, inclusive, comforting everyone; however, t is time for an approach that will actually give hope and happiness to the opposition voters, who are in tension and sadness right now.".

Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)