Author
Somer, Murat
Publication Date
2024-03
Publication Place
-
Sage
Subject
Turkey, Opposition strategies, Democratic resilience, Democratic erosion, Pathways of democratic backsliding
Type
Periodical
Language
English
Digital
Yes
Manuscript
No
Library
Özyeğin University
Library Asset ID
0002-7162
Record ID
917366da-224a-4356-b6dd-f4e993ddb8a4
Library Location
International Relations
Date
2024-03
Sample Text
Since 2002, governments led by Recep Tayyip Erdo & gbreve;an and his party have taken Turkey's political regime from electoral democracy to electoral autocracy. This has been principally accomplished through legislative capture: control, abuse, and weaponization of Parliament to pass democracy-eroding laws, discredit opposition, and legitimize executive authoritarianism. But other tools, such as executive power grabs, were also used against strong state institutions, civil society, and even by Erdo & gbreve;an against his own party. Democratic backsliding advanced through crises that polarized the electorate and through fierce political warfare between the incumbent government and its opponents. Like other cases on the legislative capture pathway, opposition parties have resisted backsliding predominantly through electoral mobilization, but their partial access to the legislature has, for the most part, limited their capacity to join forces with grassroots contentious politics. The opposition has not developed solutions for programmatic renewal that might heal formative rifts and lead to sustainable recovery.
DOI
10.1177/00027162251318839
Cilt
712
