An Assemblage of New Authoritarian Practices in Turkey

Abstract

This chapter provides a historically grounded and theoretically informed overview of key expanding authoritarian practices under the AKP's rule (2002-Present). The chapter starts by discussing the authoritarian state tradition in Turkey and how the AKP inherited this tradition. Next, the paper draws on the concept of the authoritarian assemblage and examines the AKP's authoritarian practices including the use of politically motivated trials, creation of a pro-AKP judiciary, appointments of trustees, fake news, new internet controls and social media trolling. The chapter demonstrates the expansion of new authoritarian practices and connections among authoritarian systems/practices under the model of an authoritarian assemblage. The chapter also emphasizes the key turning points in the establishment of the current authoritarian system, including the targeting and removal of the Republican elites from key positions with the help of Gülenists in the first decade of the AKP rule, the breakdown of the AKP & Gülenist alliance from 2013, the 2013 Gezi Protests, the 2016 Coup Attempt, and the 2018 transition to the Presidential system. The chapter demonstrates that, building on Turkey's authoritarian tradition, in the first decade of its rule, the AKP targeted key opposing and dissident figures in the process of establishing dominance on state bureaucracy. In the post-2013 environment, the party began to establish a mass authoritarian assemblage which resulted in mass criminalization of dissident activity.