Paths of De-democratization in Turkey

“This volume offers a refreshing and unique perspective to explaining Turkey’s authoritarian drift by exploring the connections between institutional continuities from the days of the Ottoman Empire with contemporary cultural, economic, societal and political realities. I highly recommend this volume to all who are interested in acquiring a deeper and broader understanding of Turkey’s de-democratization.” —Kemal Kirişçi, Senior Scholar, Brookings Institution “Paths of De-Democratization in Turkey provides a new angle and approach to the process of backsliding of democratization in Turkey since 2013. Readers will find varied attempts to re-assess earlier theorizing on the subject of Turkish de-democratization by reference to historical, cultural, and social structural influences on creating a viable opposition and guardrails against a government that has become increasingly authoritarian.” —Ersin Kalaycıoğlu, Professor of Political Science, Sabancı University “This volume is a comprehensive and essential analysis of the Justice and Democracy Party’s (AKP) rise to power and Recep Erdogan’s success in establishing an authoritarian political system in Turkey. Contributors employ different perspectives in describing factors behind the breakdown of Turkey’s weak democracy, domination of state institutions by Erdogan loyalists, social engineering through neo-Ottomanism, and internal and external contradictions that present severe challenges for Turkey.” —Birol Yesilada, Professor of Political Science, Portland State University