Examination of the reforms in the bureaucracy in democratic and authoritative contexts: The case of Türkiye

The bureaucracy that has existed since the first social structures and states began to form; it is affected by the political system, can direct the system and make the system operative. From the moment democracy started to affect the political system, it is seen that change and transformation took place in the bureaucracy. The states, which are affected by the differentiation of living conditions day by day, have to make reforms in order to ensure their continuity, with the logic of "the only thing that does not change is change". Bureaucracy can be at the center of reforms, or it can be in a position that is affected and influencing reforms. When democratization and authoritarianism studies are evaluated, it is seen that there are certain indexes and criteria used when examining political systems and regimes. In line with the results obtained with the help of these indexes and criteria, political systems and regimes are identified as democratic or authoritarian. Within the scope of this thesis, the studies in the literature were examined and the evaluations of scientists who conducted research on democracy and authoritarianism were taken as a basis. In the light of these evaluations, bureaucratic reforms in Turkey have been examined in the context of democratic or authoritarianism on the basis of the changes they have undergone in the historical process. When the bureaucratic reforms made in Turkey, which is governed by democracy, are evaluated in the context of democratization and authoritarianism, it is possible to say that the features that may arise from the reforms, bureaucratic structure and functioning are effective. As a result, as a result of the reforms, comments have been made on whether the bureaucracy is democratic or authoritarian in today's political conjuncture, and it has been evaluated that while democratization is observed in some areas with the bureaucratic reforms made in this context, some practices may cause authoritarian tendencies.