Inter-party competition on Facebook in a non-election period in Turkey: equalization or normalization?

Abstract

Equalization and normalization theses explain the impact of social media on the competition among political actors, such as political parties and candidates. In this context, this study analyzes whether the equalization or the normalization thesis is valid in terms of inter-party competition on Facebook in a non-election period in Turkey by using an automated cluster analysis, T test analysis and Mann-Whitney U test. The main research question of this study is whether the use of social media favours major or minor parties in Turkey. The findings of the analysis show that the inter-party competition on Facebook in Turkey generally confirms the claims of the normalization thesis.