Islamic Civil Society and Authoritarian Consolidation in AKP’s Turkey

• In Event: Civil Society and Authoritarianism: Does Civil Society Equal Democratization?

Abstract

Turkey has been steadily sliding from populist majoritarianism to authoritarianism, as indicators of freedom of association, civic liberties, and rule of law have suffered sharp declines in recent years. Under fifteen years of AKP (Justice and Development Party) rule, separation of powers, democratic institutions, and pluralism eroded, and gave way to a political system centralized around one party and its leader. The ongoing democratic erosion has culminated in a massive crackdown that followed the failed coup attempt in July 2016, after which the government announced a state of emergency and started to government country through executive decrees.
Concurrent with the gradual move from “conservative democracy” to authoritarianism, the government has cultivated a loyalist segment of civil society through a series of reforms in the Law of Associations. The government has nurtured previously informal Islamic charities into resource-rich non-governmental organizations and incorporated them into the state machinery. During the AKP rule, Islamic civil society organizations have become state’s partners in social welfare provision, information politics, community level organization, and voter mobilization.
Analyzing the mutually beneficial relationship between the state and Islamic civil society, the paper argues that in contexts where resources are controlled by clientelist and patronage networks, such as contemporary Turkey, civil society may reinforce non-democratic regimes instead of bolstering democratic institutions and civic engagement. Thriving under state patronage, Islamic civil society has become the most vibrant segment of associational life in Turkey. Islamic NGOs have been taking on greater responsibilities in resource allocation and in laying down the ideational infrastructure for the party’s conservative communitarian socio-cultural agenda. Furthermore, their welfare distribution responsibilities among local communities have allowed them to discipline the voting behavior of aid recipients in favor of the ruling party. In the process, the organizations could secure access to state resources, increase their capacity, reach, and visibility, and become stepping-stones for careers in public administration. In other words, Islamic civil society, meticulously cultivated by AKP, have assisted the government to consolidate its hegemony, and in so doing, facilitated the country’s trajectory towards authoritarianism.

Author

• Zeynep Atalay, St. Mary's College of California