“Feeling like” upholding conservative politics: The material and affective dimensions of women's support for AKP

Abstract

Through progressive and regressive periods, during electoral victories or unexpected losses, Turkish women's support for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been critical. The appeal of conservative patriarchal politics for women have been largely overlooked but they support the ruling party not only by showing up at the ballot box but also by active engagement and volunteerism. This article investigates how women explain their support for a government that undermines their rights and freedoms. Looking at the emotional pathways that result in attachment to the party, I argue that women's compliance with and support for the AKP regime cannot be understood solely as typical vote buying or a bargain. Instead, following Sara Ahmed's conceptualization of emotions as the “sticky” element of women's relationship with the regime, I complement the material dimensions of support with emotions. I explore the idea that support for the regime is rooted in material and affective realms which emerges through three emotional pathways: gratitude for recognition and redistribution, altruistic and egoistic senses of pride, and denial of resentment toward the party. I conclude that hegemonic success is not only a political and cognitive achievement but also an affective one, a necessary distinction in discussions of feminisms.