Erdoğan’s presidential regime and strategic legalism: Turkish democracy in the twilight zone
Journal Article: Erdoğan’s presidential regime and strategic legalism: Turkish democracy in the twilight zone
Journal: Southeast European and Black Sea Studies
Date of Publication: 2020
Author: Zafer Yılmaz, Einstein Fellow, Institut für Sozialwissenschaften, Vergleichende Demokratieforschung und Politische Systeme Osteuropas, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany zafer.yilmaz@hu-berlin.de
How to Cite: Yılmaz, Z. (2020). Erdoğan’s presidential regime and strategic legalism: Turkish democracy in the twilight zone. Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 20(2), 265–287. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683857.2020.1745418
“Erdoğan’s presidential regime and strategic legalism: Turkish democracy in the twilight zone” by Zafer Yılmaz (2020) examines how Turkey under President Erdoğan has shifted from a rule-of-law model toward a “rule by law” approach. Employing the approach of strategic legalism, the state has used legal tools instrumentally (e.g. emergency decrees, judicial purges, retroactive laws) to legitimize what are effectively political actions. This democratic erosion accelerated after the failed 2016 coup attempt, when Erdoğan’s government undertook sweeping constitutional and institutional reforms that concentrated powers in the presidency, weakened checks and balances, and redefined legal norms. Yılmaz argues that strategic legalism allows Erdoğan to cloak authoritarian measures in legality, undermining democratic safeguards while preserving the appearance of legitimacy.
The full text of the article and a PDF version is available on the website, here.
