Research Assistant Yunus Yeşil's Co-Authored Article Published in Politics and Governance (Q1) Journal

Research Assistant Yunus Yeşil from our Department of Sociology, along with Asst. Prof. Sümeyye Kaya Uyar from the Department of Political Science and International Relations and Research Assistant Mustafa Yıldırım, co-authored the article titled “What Drives Boycotts? Exploring Motivational Frames in Digital Activism”, which was published in the Politics and Governance (Q1) journal in April 2026.

This article examines how young people have engaged in consumer boycotts in response to Israel’s genocide in Gaza and how these boycotts have evolved into a form of political expression within digital environments.

The article investigates the motivations behind youth participation in boycott movements on digital platforms, analyzing 4,670 English-language social media posts published between January 2024 and October 2025. Using BERTopic modeling and qualitative frame analysis, the study identifies the dominant motivational frames that justify, legitimize, and communicate youth participation in boycotts. The research highlights the prominence of motivational frames such as perceived institutional inadequacy, moral-humanitarian justifications, transnational solidarity, and market-based accountability. It also emphasizes the significant role of emotional expressions in reinforcing political meanings and facilitating collective alignment in digital spaces.

This study, co-authored by Yunus Yeşil, demonstrates how consumer boycotts serve as a form of digital activism and political participation for young people. By examining how political meanings and collective motivations are constructed and disseminated in digital public spheres, the research offers fresh insights into political consumerism, youth political engagement, and digital activism.

To access the open-access article: https://www.cogitatiopress.com/politicsandgovernance/article/view/11745