05.07.2023

Departmental Seminar: The Resilience of Authoritarian Populism: Lessons from Turkey’s Pivotal Elections

Senem Aydın-Düzgit (Sabancı University) Wednesday, 5 July 2023 · 16:00 c.t. · Room 124, Institut für Politikwissenschaft Or join online via Zoom: 930 8975 0663 (Meeting ID), 142311 (Passcode)

Why did Recep Tayyip Erdoğan win again the Turkish Presidential Elections, despite expectations to the contrary? Senem Aydın-Düzgit argues that state and market capture under authoritarian populism enabling patronage networks, severe polarization, and post-truth politics are core factors in explaining Erdoğan’s victory. In addition, Erdoğan played a weak hand well, enabled by the failure of the opposition to develop a coherent political agenda and language that addresses the concerns of voters at a time when massive uncertainty, growing nationalism, and economic concerns were resurrected.

Senem Aydın-Düzgit is Professor of International Relations at Sabancı University and Research Coordinator at the Istanbul Policy Center. She is one of Turkey’s leading political scientists and the author of many books and articles in international journals, including Journal of Common Market Studies, West European Politics, Cooperation and Conflict, and International Affairs.