Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-m8qmq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T14:58:14.671Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Toward a new political regime in Turkey: From competitive toward full authoritarianism

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 May 2018

Koray Çalışkan
Koray Çalışkan*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science and International Relations, Boğaziçi University, 34342, Beşiktaş, İstanbul, Turkey, koray.caliskan@boun.edu.tr.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article argues that Turkey’s contemporary political regime is competitive authoritarianism. Tracing the evolution of Turkey’s political system from tutelary democracy to its current state, it describes the developments that resulted in the dissolution of the army’s prerogatives in politics and the rise of a new form of authoritarianism in the country. Associating this substantive change with the global emergence of competitive authoritarianism, I argue that the competitive authoritarian regime of Turkey has been institutionalized by the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP) and that, since the 2017 referendum, the regime has displayed a tendency toward full authoritarianism that may render elections non-competitive by narrowing the legal channels through which the opposition can contest for political power.

Keywords

Turkeypolitical regimecompetitive authoritarianismfull authoritarianismdemocracytutelary democracyJustice and Development Party
Type
Articles
Information
New Perspectives on Turkey , Volume 58 , May 2018 , pp. 5 - 33
Copyright
© New Perspectives on Turkey and Cambridge University Press 2018 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Author’s Note: I would like to thank Taha Parla, Ersin Kalaycıoğlu, Biray Kolluoğlu, and three anonymous reviewers for their comments, criticism, and support, as well as Ezel Şahinkaya and Ayşe Savut for research assistance.

References

“628 Ton Biber Gazı Kullanıldı.” Milliyet, July 27, 2012. http://www.milliyet.com.tr/628-ton-biber-gazi-kullanildi/gundem/gundemdetay/27.07.2012/1572415/default.htm.Google Scholar
“Adliyelerin 2016 Gündemi Hakaretti.” Cumhuriyet, June 27, 2017. http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/turkiye/769406/Adliyelerin_2016_gundemi_hakaretti.html.Google Scholar
Alemdar, Zeynep. “‘Modelling’ for Democracy? Turkey’s Historical Issues with Freedom of Speech.” Middle Eastern Studies 50, no. 4 (2014): 568–588.Google Scholar
Amnesty International. Gezi Park Protests: Brutal Denial of the Right to Peaceful Assembly in Turkey. London: Amnesty, 2013.Google Scholar
Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Anayasa Mahkemesi. “Mansur Yavaş ve Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi Başvurusu.” Application No. 2014/5425. Date of Decision: July 23, 2014. http://www.kararlaryeni.anayasa.gov.tr/BireyselKarar/Content/f2be0ce5-74de-47d9-b43a-3b3d8dfe9581?wordsOnly=False.Google Scholar
Arat, Yeşim. “Violence, Resistance, and Gezi Park.” International Journal of Middle East Studies 45, no. 4 (2013): 807–809.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arbatlı, Ekim, Turkey’s New Path: The Rise of Electoral Authoritarianism.” Research Turkey, December 16, 2014. http://researchturkey.org/turkeys-new-path-the-rise-of-electoral-authoritarianism/.Google Scholar
Başer, Bahar and Öztürk, Ahmet Erdi, eds. Authoritarian Politics in Turkey: Elections, Resistance and the AKP. London: I.B. Tauris, 2017.Google Scholar
Biber, Gazı Yasaklansın İnisiyatifi, “Biber Gazı Yasaklansın Raporu 2014.” http://www.bibergaziyasaklansin.net/icerik/bgyrapor2014.pdf.Google Scholar
Brooker, Paul. Non-Democratic Regimes: Theory, Government, and Politics. New York: St. Martin’s, 2000.Google Scholar
Bunce, Valerie J. and Wolchik, Sharon L.. “Defeating Dictatorship: Electoral Change and Stability in Competitive Authoritarian Regimes.” World Politics 62, no. 1 (2010): 43–86.Google Scholar
Carothers, Thomas. “The End of the Transition Paradigm.” Journal of Democracy 13, no. 1 (2002): 5–21.Google Scholar
Corke, Susan, Finkel, Andrew, Kramer, David, Robbins, Anne, and Schenkkan, Nate. Democracy in Crisis: Corruption, Media, and Power in Turkey. Washington, DC: Freedom House, 2014.Google Scholar
Council of Europe. Observation of the Parliamentary Elections in Turkey. Brussels: Council of Europe, 2011.Google Scholar
Council of Europe. Turkey: Opinion on the Amendments to the Constitution Adopted by the Grand National Assembly on 21 January 2017 and to be Submitted to a National Referendum on 16 April 2017.Opinion No. 875/2017. Strasbourg, March 13, 2017. http://www.venice.coe.int/webforms/documents/default.aspx?pdffile=cdl-ad(2017)005-e.Google Scholar
Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi (CHP). Merkez Yönetim Kurulu Raporu (Referandum 16 Nisan 2017). Ankara, April 25, 2017. http://www.chp.org.tr/Public/0/Folder//90961.pdf.Google Scholar
Çalışkan, Koray, “Competitive Authoritarianism: The New Political Regime of Islamists in Turkey.” Paper presented at Sciences-Po, Centre de Recherches Internationales, Paris, May 27, 2014.Google Scholar
Çalışkan, Koray. “Explaining the End of Military Tutelage in Turkey.” Working paper, Boğaziçi University İstanbul, 2015.Google Scholar
Çalışkan, Koray. “Explaining the End of Military Tutelary Regime and the July 15 Coup Attempt in Turkey.” Journal of Cultural Economy 10, no. 1 (2017): 97–111.Google Scholar
Diamond, Larry Jay. “Thinking About Hybrid Regimes.” Journal of Democracy 13, no. 2 (2002): 21–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Diamond, Larry Jay, Linz, Juan J., and Lipset, Seymour Martin. Politics in Developing Countries: Comparing Experiences with Democracy. Boulder: L. Rienner Publishers, 1995.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). Turkey: Country Report. London: Economist Intelligence Unit, 2015.Google Scholar
Eken, Bülent. “The Politics of the Gezi Park Resistance: Against Memory and Identity.” South Atlantic Quarterly 113, no. 2 (2014): 427–436.Google Scholar
Esen, Berk and Gümüşçü, Şebnem. “Rising Competitive Authoritarianism in Turkey.” Third World Quarterly 37, no. 9 (2016): 1581–1606.Google Scholar
Flego, Gvozden Srećko, “Protection of Media Freedom in Europe.” Council of Europe, Parliamentary Assembly, Doc. 13664. January 12, 2015.Google Scholar
Human Rights Watch (HRW). “World Report 2015: Turkey.” https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2015/country-chapters/turkey.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
İnsan Hakları Derneği (İHD). “2013 Türkiye İnsan Hakları İhlalleri Bilançosu.” https://www.ihd.org.tr/2013-turkiye-insan-haklari-ihlalleri-bilancosu/.Google Scholar
İnsan Hakları Ortak Platformu (İHOP). Fact Sheet: State of Emergency Measures in Turkey. İstanbul: İnsan Hakları Ortak Platformu, 2017.Google Scholar
Karakaya, Naim and Özhabeş, Hande. Judicial Reform Packages: Evaluating Their Effect on Rights and Freedoms. İstanbul: TESEV, 2013.Google Scholar
Kireçci, Akif M. “Relating Turkey to the Middle East and North Africa: Arab Spring and the Turkish Experience.” Bilig 63 (2012): 111–134.Google Scholar
Kuru, Ahmet T. “The Rise and Fall of Military Tutelage in Turkey: Fears of Islamism, Kurdism, and Communism.” Insight Turkey 14, no. 2 (2012): 37–57.Google Scholar
Lerner, Daniel. The Passing of Traditional Society: Modernizing the Middle East. New York: Free Press of Glencoe, 1964.Google Scholar
Levitsky, Steven and Way, Lucan A.. “The Rise of Competitive Authoritarianism.” Journal of Democracy 13, no. 2 (2002): 51–66.Google Scholar
Levitsky, StevenandWay, Lucan A.. Competitive Authoritarianism: Hybrid Regimes after the Cold War. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morse, Yonatan L. “The Era of Electoral Authoritarianism.” World Politics 64, no. 1 (2012): 161–198.Google Scholar
Muižnieks, Nils, “Memorandum on Freedom of Expression and Media Freedom in Turkey.” Council of Europe, 2017. https://wcd.coe.int/com.instranet.InstraServlet?command=com.instranet.CmdBlobGet&InstranetImage=2961658&SecMode=1&DocId=2397056&Usage=2.Google Scholar
OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. “Republic of Turkey, Presidential Election, 10 August 2014, OSCE/ODIHR Limited Election Observation Mission Final Report.” Warsaw: OSCE, 2014. http://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/turkey/126851?download=true.Google Scholar
OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. “Republic of Turkey, Parliamentary Elections, 7 June 2015, OSCE/ODIHR Limited Election Observation Mission Final Report.” Warsaw: OSCE, 2015. http://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/turkey/177926?download=true.Google Scholar
OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. “Republic of Turkey, Parliamentary Elections, 1 November 2015, OSCE/ODIHR Limited Election Observation Mission Final Report.” Warsaw: OSCE, 2016. http://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/turkey/219201?download=true.Google Scholar
OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. “Republic of Turkey – Constitutional Referendum, 16 April 2017: Statement of Preliminary Findings and Conclusions.” Warsaw: OSCE, 2017. http://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/turkey/311721?download=true.Google Scholar
OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. “Republic of Turkey, Constitutional Referendum, 16 April 2017, OSCE/ODIHR Limited Referendum Observation Mission Final Report.” Warsaw: OSCE, 2017. http://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/turkey/324816?download=true.Google Scholar
Ottaway, Marina. Democracy Challenged: The Rise of Semi-Authoritarianism. Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2003.Google Scholar
“Oy ve Ötesi Referandum Raporunu Açıkladı.” Cumhuriyet, April 20, 2017. http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/turkiye/724822/Oy_ve_Otesi_referandum_raporunu_acikladi__2_bin_397_sandikta_secmenden_fazla_oy_cikti.html.Google Scholar
Örmeci, Ozan, “Turkey towards Competitive Authoritarianism.” Politika Akademisi, August 8, 2014. http://politikaakademisi.org/2014/08/06/turkey-towards-competitive-authoritarianism/.Google Scholar
Özbudun, Ergun. “Turkey’s Judiciary and the Drift toward Competitive Authoritarianism.” The International Spectator 50, no. 2 (2015): 42–55.Google Scholar
“Polis Şiddeti 183 Kişiyi Hayattan Kopardı.” Cumhuriyet, February 18, 2015. http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/turkiye/216613/Polis_siddeti_183_kisiyi_hayattan_kopardi.html.Google Scholar
Reporters without Borders (RWB). “2016 World Press Freedom Index.” Reporters without Borders. https://rsf.org/en/ranking/2016.Google Scholar
Rodriguez, Carmen, Ávalos, Antonio, Yılmaz, Hakan, and Planet, Ana I., eds. Turkey’s Democratization Process. London: Routledge, 2014.Google Scholar
Rouquie, Alan. The Military and the State in Latin America. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987.Google Scholar
Schedler, Andreas. Electoral Authoritarianism: The Dynamics of Unfree Competition. Boulder and London: Lynne Rienner Publishers, 2006.Google Scholar
“Seni Başkan Yaptırmayacağız.” Cumhuriyet, March 17, 2015. http://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/haber/siyaset/231943/_Seni_baskan_yaptirmayacagiz_ .html.Google Scholar
“Senior UN Officials Urge Restraint, Dialogue to Defuse Tensions Fuelling Protests in Turkey.” UN News, June 18, 2013. https://news.un.org/en/story/2013/06/442552-senior-un-officials-urge-restraint-dialogue-defuse-tensions-fuelling-protests.Google Scholar
Sezer, D. Çiğdem, Elbistan, E. Ezra, Şenol, G. Zekiye, and Taştan, Nejat. 30 Mart 2014 Mahalli İdareler ile Mahalle Muhtarlıkları ve İhtiyar Heyetleri Seçimi Gözlem Raporu. İstanbul: Eşit Haklar İçin İzleme Derneği (ESHİD), 2014. http://www.esithaklar.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Yerel-Se%C3%A7im-Raporu.pdf.Google Scholar
Silverman, Reuben. “Dogan versus Erdogan: Business and Politics in AKP-era Turkey.” Mediterranean Quarterly 25, no. 2 (2014): 131–151.Google Scholar
Sözeri, Ceren. “The Political Economy of the Media and Its Impact on Freedom of Expression in Turkey.” In Turkey’s Democratization Process. Edited by Carmen Rodriguez, Antonio Ávalos, Hakan Yılmaz, and Ana I. Planet. London: Routledge, 2014: 391–403.Google Scholar
Stepan, Alfred C. Rethinking Military Politics: Brazil and the Southern Cone. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taş, Hakkı. “Turkey: From Tutelary to Delegative Democracy.” Third World Quarterly 36, no. 4 (2015): 776–791.Google Scholar
“TBMM’de ‘Açık Oylama’ Skandalı Sonrası Oylama Tekrarlanacak mı?” Sözcü, January 10, 2017. http://www.sozcu.com.tr/2017/gundem/tbmmde-acik-oylama-skandali-sonrasi-oylama-tekrarlanacak-mi-1615051/.Google Scholar
Tuğal, Cihan, “Gulenism: The Middle Way or Official Ideology?” Jadaliyya, July 5, 2013. http://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/28949/Gulenism-The-Middle-Way-or-Official-Ideology.Google Scholar
Tuğal, Cihan. The Fall of the Turkish Model: How the Arab Uprisings Brought down Islamic Liberalism. London: Verso, 2016.Google Scholar
“Turkey: President Should Veto Judiciary Law.” Human Rights Watch, February 21, 2014. https://www.hrw.org/news/2014/02/21/turkey-president-should-veto-judiciary-law.Google Scholar
Türkmen Dervişoğlu, Gülay, “Turkey: From ‘Role Model’ to ‘Illiberal Democracy.”’ Open Democracy, December 11, 2015. https://www.opendemocracy.net/can-europe-make-it/gulay-turkmen- dervisoglu/turkey-from-role-model-to-illiberal-democracy.Google Scholar
Jean Yackley, Ayla. “Turkey Gov’t Hits Media Group Dogan with Tax Fine.” Reuters, September 8, 2009. http://uk.reuters.com/article/2009/09/08/turkey-dogan-idUKL815352620090908.Google Scholar
Yardımcı-Geyikçi, Şebnem. “Gezi Park Protests in Turkey: A Party Politics View.” Political Quarterly 85, no. 4 (2014): 445–453.Google Scholar
Yıldırım, A. Kadir. “Turkish Elections: Money and the Media.” Open Democracy, April 8, 2014. https://www.opendemocracy.net/arab-awakening/akadir-yildirim/turkish-elections-money-and-media.Google Scholar
Yıldız, Uğur Burç. “Rethinking Civil-Military Relations in Turkey: The Problems of the Democratic Governance of the Defense and Security Sectors.” Turkish Studies 15, no. 3 (2014): 386–401.Google Scholar
Yörük, Erdem and Yüksel, Murat. “Class and Politics in Turkey’s Gezi Protests.” New Left Review 89 (2014): 103–123.Google Scholar