Prof. Dr. Deniz Ülke Arıboğan: “The Most Important Characteristic of Society is its Shift from Uncertainty Towards the Status Quo”

 Evaluating the presidential election results, Prof. Dr. Deniz Ülke Arıboğan stated that no one on the ruling side questioned Erdoğan's political leadership, while a hesitant situation was experienced on the opposition side. Arıboğan, stating that the most important characteristic of society is its shift from uncertainty towards the status quo, noted that a very strong nationalist reflex is observed in Turkey and is distributed among all parties.

“It is time for an approach that will also give hope and make the opposition voters happy”

Dean of Üsküdar University's Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Rector's Advisor, and Faculty Member of the Department of Political Science and International Relations, Prof. Dr. Deniz Ülke Arıboğan evaluated the presidential election results.

The results are not unexpected

Starting her words by stating that the results were not unexpected, Prof. Dr. Deniz Ülke Arıboğan said, “In the recent period, serious polling companies had also started to capture similar results. Sinan Oğan's move to the opposition front might have created a psychological motivation. However, with his move to the People's Alliance side, that motivation diminished. It gave a psychological boost to the ruling front.”

The Most Important Characteristic of Society is its Shift from Uncertainty Towards the Status Quo

Evaluating it from the perspective of the two alliances, Arıboğan emphasized that on one side there was a very strong and unquestioningly accepted political leader, saying, “No member of the alliance opened Erdoğan's political leadership to question. Erdoğan is an experienced statesman. There was great clarity on that matter. On the other hand, in my opinion, the most serious problem was a hesitant situation that developed, questioning 'Was he the winning candidate or not?' In such situations, society perceives that hesitation very quickly. The most important characteristic of society, also due to the spirit of the age being uncertainty, is its shift from uncertainty towards the status quo.”

The feeling of protecting the homeland exists in collective memory

Prof. Dr. Deniz Ülke Arıboğan stated that Erdoğan has actually represented the established order, that is, the state, for a long time, saying, “There is more than a political party leader there. Economic problems and an earthquake disaster occurred in Turkey, and geopolitically, there were truly very serious problems in the south globally. From Syria, Iraq, it spread to the north. A warrior model developed through Ukraine, the formation and intensification of inter-polar conflicts all over the world… In such periods, the need for a strong leader emerges. Political psychology generally looks at these. Firstly, what are society's traumas? Because societal traumas are triggered by certain events. What has accumulated in the collective memory also begins to surface. First and foremost, we must not forget this. The founding people of this country's Anatolian geography are largely people who were exiled from their homeland and sought refuge in the motherland, losing all their possessions and their homeland from the Balkans, Caucasus, and Crimea. The feeling you call protecting the homeland exists in that collective memory.”

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

What emerged throughout these campaign processes was that Erdoğan tried to trigger the reflex of protecting the state, both as the representative of the state and as the guardian of that ideology,” Arıboğan continued:

“'Let the homeland not be lost, let the state not be lost. What is essential is the state; I call on all of you to protect the state,' he said. 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, the other for the love of state, homeland, and nation. This is the essence of the matter.”

When the Berlin Wall fell, only twelve countries had walls on their borders; today there are ninety

Arıboğan, stating that in environments where economic problems are few and very high threats do not arise, the main concerns of people generally revolve around concepts such as human rights, democracy, and freedom, said, “But today's conditions are not like this. The spirit of the times is not this either. I have been saying for a long time, when the Berlin Wall fell, only twelve countries in the world had walls on their borders. Today, ninety countries are surrounding their borders with walls. In the process from 1989 to the present, we are moving in a direction completely opposite to that spirit that broke down national borders and opened the way for individual and civil rights. And this naturally permeates Turkey. Therefore, I believe this is also the main motivation behind voting behavior,” she explained. Arıboğan noted that a very strong nationalist reflex is currently observed in Turkey, adding, “The nationalist reflex is distributed among all parties. The main issue is that such a nationalist reflex is emerging in different forms.”

Conservative parties everywhere in the world are against immigrants

Arıboğan, stating that the issue of Syrians is a very sensitive matter for Turkey, said, “On the refugee issue, there is an inter-party consensus of over 85 percent. This is a source of discomfort and will continue to be so. It will always remain an issue that affects the voting process. However, the interesting issue here is this: nationalist, conservative parties everywhere in the world are against immigrants. But here, the person who sponsors all of them is the leader of the nationalist conservative group. If he were to oppose it, you couldn't hold back the public either. The masses who react to this issue constantly drop it from their agenda out of respect or love for Erdoğan.”

It is time for an approach that will also give hope and make the opposition voters happy 

In conclusion, Prof. Dr. Deniz Ülke Arıboğan, stating that 25 million people also voted for the opposition, concluded her words as follows:
“It is no longer a time for talking in percentages and numbers and making calculations; it is a time for an embracing, inclusive approach that brings comfort to everyone; an approach that will actually give hope and make the opposition voters, who are currently tense and sad, happy.”