Erdogan Has Perfected the Autocrat’s Playbook

Erdogan Has Perfected the Autocrat’s Playbook
Supporters of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cheer at AKP party headquarters, in Ankara, Turkey, May 15, 2023 (AP photo by Ali Unal).

The results of Sunday’s elections in Turkey came as a disappointment not only to Turkish voters who wanted to bring an end to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s 20 years of increasingly autocratic rule. The opposition’s weaker-than-expected performance also dashed the hopes of many outside observers that Turkey would become one of the countries where the global drift to autocracy begins to reverse.

The Turkish vote was important not only because the country is a major regional power, but because Erdogan has become a model for aspiring autocrats seeking a path to amassing power under the emerging model of illiberal democracy.

Of course, the ultimate outcome of the presidential election is not yet settled, and there’s still a faint chance that the opposition could manage a victory. Since neither Erdogan nor his challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, secured the required 50 percent of the vote, the contest goes to a second round on May 28. But the odds strongly favor Erdogan.

Keep reading for free

Already a subscriber? Log in here .

Get instant access to the rest of this article by creating a free account below. You'll also get access to three articles of your choice each month and our free newsletter:
Subscribe for an All-Access subscription to World Politics Review
  • Immediate and instant access to the full searchable library of tens of thousands of articles.
  • Daily articles with original analysis, written by leading topic experts, delivered to you every weekday.
  • The Daily Review email, with our take on the day’s most important news, the latest WPR analysis, what’s on our radar, and more.