ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the implications of developments in media technologies for newer democracies. It discusses the distinct and converging challenges to party systems in earlier and more recent waves of democratisation, followed by a comparative discussion of the impact of media on party strategies in election campaigns. The chapter also discusses these trends in relation to the Turkish case by distinguishing between media technologies' micro and macro effects. It provides a discussion on the implications of media changes on the health of multi-party politics, particularly for newer democracies in which party politics and campaigning are far more mediatised. Party organization is always pressured to conform to the mode through which the party can best disseminate its message and gain social support. Although local party chapters remain, and their precise relationship with the central party varies within and across parties in Turkey, the overriding authoritarian nature of political party organizations, nonetheless, remains constant, as noted by Ayan Musil.
