Institut für Politikwissenschaft

Dr. Arda Kumbaracibasi


Short Bio:

Arda Kumbaracibasi is a lecturer in Comparative Politics and Turkish Politics. He studied Politics and Government (BA) and Democracy Studies (MA) at the University of Kent, UK, and completed his PhD also at Kent, where he wrote his thesis on the Turkish AKP, focusing on its organization, electoral performance and ideology. From 2009 until 2012 he taught at Yeditepe and Maltepe Universities in Istanbul as an assistant professor. Between 2012-2014 he was a DAAD fellow and a visiting scholar at the University of Bamberg, Germany. From 2014 he taught a large variety of subjects at Bahçeşehir University in Istanbul, where he also received his associate professorship. Since Spring 2024 he is a part of the Department of Politics in Georg-August University of Göttingen.

Research Interests:

  • Comparative Politics
  • Political Parties
  • Turkish Politics
  • Parties and Elections in Turkey
  • Party and Party System Institutionalization
  • Elections and Electoral Systems
  • Voters and Voting Behavior
  • Political Institutions
  • Cinema and Politics
  • Media and Political Culture



    • Selected Publications:

    • “Considerations for the Use of E-Voting and Blockchain in Elections” in Politics & International Relations on the Axis of Entrepreneurship and Digitalization Edited by Sinem Eray (Book Chapter – Upcoming, 2024 – Accepted by Publisher)

    • “Spatial Diffusion and Geographical Patterns in Turkish Vote for pro-Islamist Parties” (Southeastern European and Black Sea Studies, Vol. 21. No. 1, 2021, doi: 10.1080/14683857.2020.1868816 – co-authored with Prof. Simon Fink)

    • “Models of Party Institutionalization and Problems of Democratic Consolidation” (Mediterranean Politics, Vol. 25, No. 2, [Published Online 2018], doi: 10.1080/13629395.2018.1537102)

    • “Analyzing Party Positions and Electoral Dynamics in Turkey” (International Journal of Political Science and Urban Studies, Vol 7, No. 2, September 2019)

    • “Democracy and a Radical System Shift” in Turkey in Transition: Politics, Society and Foreign Policy - Edited by Ebru Canan-Sokullu (Book Chapter – Peter Lang, Berlin, 2020, Isbn 9783631812235, doi: 10.3726/b16939)

    • “Theories of Coalition Government Formation and Party Politics in Turkey” in Party Politics in Turkey: a Comparative Perspective - Edited by Sabri Sayarı, Pelin Ayan Musil and Özhan Demirkol (Book Chapter – Routledge, London, 2018, Isbn 9781138207547, doi: 10.4324/9781315461892)

    • Turkish Politics and the Rise of the AKP: Dilemmas of Institutionalization and Leadership Strategy (Routledge, London, 2009, Isbn 9780415491600, doi: 10.4324/9780203876299)

    • “An Aggregate Analysis of the AKP Vote and Electoral Continuities in the Turkish Party System” (Turkish Studies, Vol. 17, No. 2, June 2016, pp. 223-50, doi: 10.1080/14683849.2015.1135062)

    • “Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi Oylarının Birikimli Düzey Analizi ve Türkiye’de Merkez Solun Seçim Coğrafyasının İncelemesi” (An Aggregate Analysis of the Republican People's Party Vote and the Electoral Geography of Center-Left in Turkey. Amme İdaresi Dergisi, Vol 47, No. 4, December 2014, pp.59-92.)