The impact of partisanship and religiosity on conspiracy-theory beliefs in Turkey

Why do people believe in conspiracy theories? This paper responds to this ever-significant question by scrutinizing people's belief in conspiracy theories in Turkey. Building on Max Weber's theory of rationalization, it proposes that value-laden and instrumentally rational predispositions, namely religiosity and partisanship, predict people's beliefs in conspiracy theories. This current study tests this hypothesis by analyzing two nationwide surveys conducted during a period of significant changes in modern Turkish politics: January and July 2013. The findings confirm the hypothesis that people interpret conspiracy theories in line with their instrumental, rational interests and values

Using Content Analysis to Study Political Texts: Notes on Turkish Parliamentary Debates

This article proposes that mixed-method content analysis is an apt and creative technique to investigate large amounts of political texts. To support this premise, the article discusses the advantages of the method on a study that scrutinizes the political debates about Armenians in the Turkish parliament between 1960 and 1980. In so doing, the article not only demonstrates the benefits of mixed-method content analysis in examining Turkish political texts but also outlines the research procedure to encourage scholars to use this valuable method in other contexts.Peer reviewe