Meanings/Conceptualization of Democracy: A Political Ethnography in Kırklareli, Turkey

Democracy has been in constant decline all over the world. However, people’s support for democracy remains stable or is even increasing. This paradox urges us to inquire how the global retreat of democracy manifests at the individual level. In this study, I seek to understand the comprehension of the people active in politics toward democracy. Using the short-term political ethnography method, I ask how they conceptualize democracy. To do so, I conducted in-depth interviews (IDIs) with people active in different political parties who live in the Merkez district of Kırklareli, Türkiye. By examining people’s understanding of democracy, their definitions, and normative conceptualizations, I question whether people think that democracy is still the only game in their town. In this way, I demonstrate the divergence between what they intend/expect and their attitudes to/how they actualize democracy. The findings indicate that while interviewees generally define democracy positively, their understanding is often inconsistent and influenced by their political context. The divergence between idealized and practical aspects of democracy is evident, with some respondents advocating for limitations, reflecting a hypocritical or authoritarian stance that undermines genuine democratic commitment. Thus, even if their support for democracy in the Przeworskian sense is hopeful, those self-proclaimed democrats do not internalize democracy and further possess a hypocritical and authoritarian understanding of it. Since politically active people’s judgments are indicators of the quality of democracy, a distorted understanding poses a threat to democracy itself.