ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the Covid-19 response of the AKP government of Turkey, which confronts the crisis in the midst of increasing monopolization of power, ongoing economic crisis and institutional decay. The chapter argues that these trends determined the government’s response to the crisis. Rather than revealing something hitherto unknown, the pandemic has intensified ongoing transformations in Turkey’s governance. Throughout the pandemic the AKP has prioritized campaigning over governing. It has also taken advantage of the crisis by intensifying its repression of opposition parties and civil society organizations. While decay in state-linked institutions as a result of the AKP’s authoritarianism caused major problems, the government further hampered response attempts by disrupting, sidelining or marginalizing institutions outside the AKP’s direct tutelage such as civil society organizations or opposition municipalities. Finally, the pandemic has deepened the economic crisis and has further exposed the AKP’s prioritization of big business and regime cronies, putting public health and welfare at greater risk.
