Browsing by Author "Gumuscu, Sebnem"

Filter results by typing the first few letters
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Item
    Competitive Yet Unfair: May 2023 Elections And Authoritarian Resilience In Turkey
    (Başkent Üniversitesi İktisadi İdari Bilimler Fakültesi, 2024-04-20) Esen, Berk; Gumuscu, Sebnem; Yavuzyilmaz, Hakan
    On May 14, Turkish voters headed to the polls to vote for presidential and parliamentary elections. This was the most challenging race yet for authoritarian populist Erdogan, as the ongoing economic crisis and deadly earthquakes severely diminished his performance legitimacy. Moreover, the opposition parties united against his regime by rallying behind a joint presidential candidate. However, Erdogan turned the tables on the opposition and won the presidential race for a third consecutive term while his electoral bloc secured a majority in the parliament. This paper analyses the context and results of Turkey's 2023 twin elections. We highlight the features of the competitive authoritarian regime, Erdogan's religio-nationalist electoral strategy, and the opposition's fragile state and weak strategy to explain Erdogan's electoral resilience.