The Establishment of Dictatorship
The Establishment of Dictatorship

Recep Tayyıp Erdoğan and his “New Turkey”

Summary/Abstract: Turkey might have been expected to be on the road towards a liberal democracy with a robust stateof law, a vibrant civil society and an economy integrated in the neo-liberal global environment.The article first describes the multiple integration of Turkey’s political system and society in globalnetworks of a liberal order orchestrated by the culturally conservative, economically neo-liberalParty of Justice and Development (AKP) under Recep Tayyıp Erdoğan. The contribution then investigates the un-doing of democratic mechanisms by the very same actors since 2011: Sideliningof military, Erdoğan’s ascendency to a position of totally controlling his party, the fight against theGülenist movement, and finally the abrupt end of negotiations with the Kurdish opposition.In conclusion, a bleak picture emerges: The dictatorship being established is going to last. The political constellation of 2011 actually reinforces this development – Erdoğan understood that he had nothing to gain with further steps towards a liberal democracy but realized that due to the absence of strong political institutions supporting a democratic order he was in a position to establish a dictatorial rule.

• Details
• Contents