A comparative analysis of Turkish political life in the framework of delegative democracy

In this study, Turkish political life is examined in the framework of delegative democracy, which is one of the defective democracy types. According to Guillermo O'Donnell, who introduced the delegative democracy, while power control works primarily vertically, horizontal accountability does not function effectively in delegative democracies. Until recently, after the 1960 military coup, Turkish democracy has been studied under concepts such as tutelary democracy and illiberal democracy. However, with the decrease in the army's influence on civilian politics and the transition to the presidential system, the structure of Turkish democracy has changed, and a new system that the delegation in Turkish democracy became more visible has emerged. In this study, the 1950-1960 Democrat Party period and the post-2011 period of the Justice and Development Party governments were classified as delegative democracy and analyzed in this framework. Due to the absence of a constitutional court during the DP period, an institutional control mechanism could not be established on the DP, which held the parliamentary majority, and DP has exhibited an arbitrary administration. Contrary to the DP period, the political organs remained under military-bureaucratic tutelage in the JDP period. JDP governments struggled with these tutelage bodies in the first years of their rule and significantly reduced the tutelage over civilian politics in the 2010s. However, with the third term of the JDP, which started in 2011, the democratization process slowed. In this process, the emergence of FETO, especially with its attempts to overthrow the government through the judiciary, and the subsequent coup attempt on July 15, 2016, brought the state of emergency that would last for two years. In this environment, the government took some radical measures that prioritized security, and as a result of these measures, horizontal accountability began to weaken. In such an environment, the socioeconomic crisis environment in the country required quick political decisions, and the JDP often resorted to omnibus bills and executive decrees. The use of both methods started to increase in the 2010s and intensified after July 15, 2016. Both omnibus bills and executive decrees restricted the participation of the opposition in the law-making process and caused the personalization of power.