ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with debates on authoritarianism from the perspective of a critical political economy. Debates around authoritarianism have been flourishing in political analysis related to Turkey, especially since the Gezi Uprising in 2013. Debating authoritarianism from a critical political economy perspective first and foremost entails the problematization of neoliberalism. However, the uprising was neither the only moment of defiance to the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) rule nor the last challenge to rampant authoritarianism. Rather than providing historically sensitive analysis, scholars have mainly followed the track of recent studies on authoritarianism and opted to conceptualize this regime change in Turkey around ready-made terminologies such as competitive or electoral authoritarianism. Class governance”, in Gehring’s terms, advanced thanks to the broad societal agreement on EU reforms, especially during the first AKP government, whereas “authoritarian populism” would evolve without prominent critique from EU institutions in the subsequent governing periods.
