Türkiye’s Case of 15 July: State of Exception and Authoritarian Statism as Modes of Governance

Year 2026, Volume: 10 Issue: 1, 331 - 353, 26.03.2026

Nurdan Selay Bedir

https://doi.org/10.30586/pek.1849563

https://izlik.org/JA93UX35LX

Abstract

This study examines authoritarianism in Türkiye in the aftermath of the coup attempt on 15 July 2016. The primary aim is to evaluate the governance practices that emerged in Türkiye following the coup attempt within the conceptual framework of “state of exception” and “authoritarian statism”. Accordingly, it presents and discusses the conceptualisations of two influential scholars. It asks, “To what extent are the governance practices in Türkiye after 15 July close to Agamben’s state of exception or Poulantzas’s authoritarian statism?” Methodologically, this study combines a single case study with a conceptual-comparative analysis. In doing so, it contributes to the field by applying theoretical concepts to an empirical event. Thanks to this methodological framework, the study brings together two theories, based on different ontological and epistemological traditions, on a common analytical level. Authoritarianism in Türkiye is not merely a process linked to short-term political crises; it is intertwined with the historical and political context of the reshaping of state-capital relations, social opposition, security policies, and institutional structures. Thus, the main outcome is that the regime transformation in Türkiye is a hybrid form of authoritarianism situated at the intersection of these two approaches; it possesses a multi-layered structure in which the state of exception has become permanent, and the institutional structure of the state apparatus has been rebuilt in favour of the executive. Hence, it offers a conceptual proposal, “exceptional-authoritarian statism”, as an analytical category to explain this transformation.

Keywords

State of exception , Authoritarian statism , Agamben , Poulantzas , 15 July coup attempt , State of emergency

Ethical Statement

None

Supporting Institution

None

Thanks

The author is grateful to the anonymous reviewers and the editors for their rigorous engagement with the manuscript. Their critical observations led to significant revisions in both the theoretical framework and the empirical analysis.

Türkiye’nin 15 Temmuz Vakası: Yönetişim Biçimleri Olarak Olağanüstü Hal ve Otoriter Devletçilik

https://izlik.org/JA93UX35LX

Abstract

Bu çalışma, 15 Temmuz 2016 darbe girişiminin ardından Türkiye'de otoriterliği incelemektedir. Temel amaç, darbe girişiminin ardından Türkiye'de ortaya çıkan yönetişim uygulamalarını "istisna hâli" ve "otoriter devletçilik" kavramsal çerçevesi içinde değerlendirmektir. Dolayısıyla, iki etkili akademisyenin kavramlaştırmalarını sunar ve tartışır. "15 Temmuz sonrası Türkiye'deki yönetişim uygulamaları, Agamben'in istisna hâli kavramına veya Poulantzas'ın otoriter devletçilik kavramına ne ölçüde yakındır?" sorusunu sorar. Metodolojik olarak, bu çalışma tek bir vaka çalışmasını kavramsal-karşılaştırmalı bir analizle birleştirir. Böylelikle, teorik kavramları ampirik bir olaya uygulayarak alana katkı sağlar. Bu metodolojik çerçeve sayesinde, çalışma farklı ontolojik ve epistemolojik geleneklere dayanan iki teoriyi ortak bir analitik düzeyde bir araya getirmektedir. Türkiye'deki otoriterlik, yalnızca kısa vadeli siyasi krizlerle bağlantılı bir süreç değildir; devlet-sermaye ilişkilerinin yeniden şekillenmesi, toplumsal muhalefet, güvenlik politikaları ve kurumsal yapılar gibi tarihsel ve siyasi bağlamla iç içe geçmiştir. Dolayısıyla, ana sonuç, Türkiye'deki rejim dönüşümünün bu iki yaklaşımın kesişiminde yer alan melez bir otoriterlik biçimi olduğu; olağanüstü halin kalıcı hale geldiği ve devlet aygıtının kurumsal yapısının yürütme lehine yeniden inşa edildiği çok katmanlı bir yapıya sahip olduğu yönündedir. Bu nedenle, bu dönüşümü açıklamak için analitik bir kategori olarak "istisnaî-otoriter devletçilik" üzerinden kavramsal bir öneri getirmektedir.

Keywords

İstisna hali , Otoriter devletçilik , Agamben , Poulantzas , 15 Temmuz darbe girişimi , Olağanüstü hâl

Ethical Statement

Yoktur

Supporting Institution

Yoktur

Thanks

Yazar, makaleye gösterdikleri titiz ilgiden dolayı isimsiz hakemlere ve editörlere teşekkür eder. Onların eleştirel gözlemleri, hem teorik çerçeve hem de ampirik analizde önemli değişikliklerin yapılmasına yol açmıştır.

References

• Agamben, G. (1998). Homo sacer: Sovereign power and bare life (D. Heller-Roazen, Trans.; Nachdr.). Stanford Univ. Press.
• Agamben, G. (2003). State of exception (K. Attell, Trans.; Nachdr.). University of Chicago Press.
• Aḥmad, F. (1993). The making of modern Turkey. Routledge.
• Akça, İ. (2014). Hegemonic Projects in post-1980 Turkey and the Changing Forms of Authoritarianism. In İ. Akça, A. Bekmen, & B. A. Özden (Eds), Turkey Reframed: Constituting Neoliberal Hegemony. Pluto Press.
• Akçay, Ü. (2014, June 5). Neoliberalism, Authoritarian Rule and Gezi Resistance in Turkey. How Class Works Conference.
• Akman, M. S., & Çekin, S. E. (2021). The EU as an Anchor for Turkey’s Macroeconomic and Trade Policy. In W. Reiners & E. Turhan (Eds), EU-Turkey Relations: Theories, Institutions, and Policies (pp. 295–322). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-70890-0_12
• Amnesty International. (2018, October 25). Almost 130,000 purged public sector workers in Turkey are still awaiting justice. Amnesty International. https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/press-release/2018/10/almost-130000-purged-sector-workers-still-awaiting-justice-in-turkey/
• Aras, E. G. (2023, April 12). AKP’li yıllara içeriden bakış (17): Metal yorgunluğu. Medyascope. https://medyascope.tv/2023/04/12/akpli-yillara-iceriden-bakis-17-metal-yorgunlugu/
• Arslanalp, M., & Erkmen, T. D. (2020). Repression without Exception: A Study of Protest Bans during Turkey’s State of Emergency (2016-2018). South European Society and Politics, 25(1), 99–125. https://doi.org/10.1080/13608746.2020.1748353
• Aydın, S., & Taşkın, Y. (2014). 1960’tan Günümüze Türkiye tarihi (2. baskı). İletişim Yayınları.
• Bağımsız Sosyal Bilimciler. (2008). 2008 Kavşağında Türkiye: Siyaset, İktisat ve Toplum. Yordam.
• Başkan, F., Gümrükçü, S. B., & Canyaş, F. O. (2022). Forming Pre-Electoral Coalitions in Competitive Authoritarian Contexts: The Case of the 2018 Parliamentary Elections in Turkey. Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, 24(2), 323–343. https://doi.org/10.1080/19448953.2021.2006006
• Bazı Kanun ve Kanun Hükmünde Kararnamelerde Değişiklik Yapılmasına Dair Kanun, 7145 § Resmi Gazete (2018). https://www.resmigazete.gov.tr/eskiler/2018/07/20180731-1.htm
• Berkes, N. (1998). The development of secularism in Turkey (facsimile ed). Hurst.
• Boukalas, C. (2014). No exceptions: Authoritarian statism. Agamben, Poulantzas and homeland security. Critical Studies on Terrorism, 7(1), 112–130. https://doi.org/10.1080/17539153.2013.877667
• Bozdoğan, Ö. (2019, July 14). #OffTrack #3: Government Violation of Trade Union Rights and Educators’ Academic Freedom in Turkey. Education International. https://www.ei-ie.org/en/item/22910%3Aofftrack-3-government-violation-of-trade-union-rights-and-educators-academic-freedom-in-turkey
• Bruff, I. (2014). The Rise of Authoritarian Neoliberalism. Rethinking Marxism, 26(1), 113–129. https://doi.org/10.1080/08935696.2013.843250
• Çamur, G. (2017a, July 13). We make use of state of emergency to ban strikes, says Turkey’s Erdoğan. birgun.net. https://www.birgun.net/haber/we-make-use-of-state-of-emergency-to-ban-strikes-says-turkey-s-erdogan-169586
• Çamur, G. (2017b, July 14). AKP’li Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan’dan OHAL itirafı: Grevlere anında müdahale ediyoruz. birgun.net. https://www.birgun.net/haber/akp-li-cumhurbaskani-erdogan-dan-ohal-itirafi-grevlere-aninda-mudahale-ediyoruz-169557
• Coşar, S. (2019, July 29). The AKP’s Gender Regime: Anti-Feminist Consistency. https://bianet.org/yazi/the-akp-s-gender-regime-anti-feminist-consistency-210696
• Dağı, İ. D. (2005). Transformation of Islamic political identity in Turkey: Rethinking the West and westernization. Turkish Studies, 6(1), 21–37. https://doi.org/10.1080/1468384042000339302
• Dolan, D. (2018, April 21). Turkey’s Erdogan says emergency rule good for economy as stops terrorism, strikes. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/world/turkeys-erdogan-says-emergency-rule-good-for-economy-as-stops-terrorism-strike-idUSKBN1HS0GN/
• Dutlu, D. (2018). Biyo-Politika: Foucault ve Agamben Karşılaştırması [Master’s Thesis]. Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal Üniversitesi.
• Eğilmez, M. (2016, May 23). Ekonomide AKP’nin üç farklı döneminde neler yaşandı? https://t24.com.tr/haber/ekonomide-akpnin-uc-farkli-doneminde-neler-yasandi,341763
• Ercan, F., & Oğuz, Ş. (2020). Understanding the recent rise of authoritarianism in Turkey in terms of the structural contradictions of the process of capital accumulation. In P. Bedirhanoğlu, Ç. Dölek, F. Hülagü, & Ö. Kaygusuz (Eds), Turkey’s new state in the making: Transformations in legality, economy and coercion (pp. 97–117). Zed Books. https://doi.org/10.5040/9781350225695
• Esen, B., & Gümüşçü, Ş. (2016). Rising competitive authoritarianism in Turkey. Third World Quarterly, 37(9), 1581–1606. https://doi.org/10.1080/01436597.2015.1135732
• Esen, B., & Gümüşçü, Ş. (2019). Killing Competitive Authoritarianism Softly: The 2019 Local Elections in Turkey. South European Society and Politics, 24(3), 317–342. https://doi.org/10.1080/13608746.2019.1691318
• Esen, B., & Gümüşçü, Ş. (2021). Why did Turkish democracy collapse? A political economy account of AKP’s authoritarianism. Party Politics, 27(6), 1075–1091. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354068820923722
• Evci, U., & Kaminski, M. M. (2021). Shot in the foot: Unintended political consequences of electoral engineering in the Turkish parliamentary elections in 2018. Turkish Studies, 22(3), 481–494. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683849.2020.1843443
• Evrensel. (2017, July 12). Erdoğan confessed: We do not allow strikes with the state of emergency [Text]. Evrensel daily. Https://Www.Evrensel.Net/Daily/328703/Erdogan-Confessed-We-Do-Not-Allow-Strikes-with-the-State-of-Emergency. https://www.evrensel.net/daily/328703/erdogan-confessed-we-do-not-allow-strikes-with-the-state-of-emergency
• Frahm, O., & Hoffmann, K. (2021). Dual agent of transition: How Turkey perpetuates and challenges neo-patrimonial patterns in its post-Soviet neighbourhood. East European Politics, 37(1), 110–138. https://doi.org/10.1080/21599165.2020.1733982
• George, E. (2018, May 24). Purges and Paranoia. London Review of Books, 40(10). https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v40/n10/ella-george/purges-and-paranoia
• Gürcan, E. C., & Peker, E. (2014). Turkey’s Gezi Park Demonstrations of 2013: A Marxian Analysis of the Political Moment. Socialism and Democracy, 28(1), 70–89. https://doi.org/10.1080/08854300.2013.869872
• Gürcan, E. C., & Peker, E. (2015). Challenging Neoliberalism at Turkey’s Gezi Park: From Private Discontent to Collective Class Action. Palgrave Macmillan US. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137469021
• Gürses, H. (2025). Şişedeki Mesaj: Köşe Yazıları. https://www.hakanguerses.at/publikationen/essays-und-publizistische-texte-auswahl/
• Heper, M. (1985). The state tradition in Turkey. Eothen Press.
• Heper, M. (1987). State, Democracy, and Bureaucracy in Turkey. In M. Heper (Ed.), The state and public bureaucracies: A comparative perspective. Greenwood press.
• Hoşgör, E. (2015). The Question of AKP Hegemony: Consent without Consensus. In N. Balkan, E. M. Balkan, & A. F. Öncü (Eds), The neoliberal landscape and the rise of Islamist capital in Turkey (pp. 201–234). Berghahn Books.
• Human Rights Watch. (2016, October 20). Turkey: State of emergency provisions violate human rights and should be revoked | Human Rights Watch [Joint NGO Letter]. https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/10/20/turkey-state-emergency-provisions-violate-human-rights-and-should-be-revoked
• Human Rights Watch. (2018). Turkey: Events of 2017 [World Report 2018]. Human Rights Watch. https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2018/country-chapters/turkey
• Kalaycıoğlu, E. (2012). Kulturkampf in Turkey: The Constitutional Referendum of 12 September 2010. South European Society and Politics, 17(1), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.1080/13608746.2011.600555
• Keyder, Ç. (2011). Türkiye’de devlet ve sınıflar: = State and class in Turkey: a study in capitalist development (17. baskı). İletişim.
• Kozanoğlu, C., & Cabas, M. (2018). Bıçkın ve ağlak: Yeni Türkiye’nin hikayesi: Can Kozanoğlu’yla söyleşi (1. basım). Can Yayınları.
• Kumbaracıbaşı, A. C. (2016). An aggregate analysis of the AKP vote and electoral continuities in the Turkish party system. Turkish Studies, 17(2), 223–250. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683849.2015.1135062
• Kurban, D. (2025). Authoritarian Rule by Law: Erdoğan and the European Court of Human Rights. In G. Shaffer & W. Sandholtz (Eds), The Rule of Law under Pressure: A Transnational Challenge (pp. 316–346). Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009460286.010
• Levitsky, S., & Way, L. A. (2002). Elections Without Democracy: The Rise of Competitive Authoritarianism. Journal of Democracy, 13(2), 51–65.
• Lovepump, L. (2017, May 11). Agent Orange: Fifty Shades of Authoritarianism. (Post)Humanism in the Apocalypse. https://medium.com/post-humanism-in-the-apocalypse/agent-orange-fifty-shades-of-authoritarianism-4392a018abce
• Mardin, Ş. (1973). Center-Periphery Relations: A Key to Turkish Politics? Daedalus, 102(1), 169–190.
• Musluk, C. (2010). Kürt sorununa liberal-muhafazakar “çözüm” denemesi. İn Ç. Sümer & F. Yaşlı (Eds), Hegemonyadan diktatoryaya: AKP ve liberal-muhafazakâr ittifak (pp. 285–356). Tan Kitap.
• Oğuz, Ş. (2016). Yeni Türkiye’nin siyasal rejimi. İn T. Tören & M. Kutun (Eds), Yeni Türkiye: Kapitalizm, Devlet, Sınıflar (pp. 81–127). Sosyal Araştırmalar Vakfı.
• Oğuz, Ş. (2023). AKP’li yıllarda siyasal rejimin dönüşümü: Çelişkili bir süreç olarak faşizm. Toplum ve Hekim, 38(2). https://www.belgelik.dr.tr/ToplumHekim/kayit_goster.php?Id=3130
• OHCHR. (2018). Report on the impact of the state of emergency on human rights in Turkey, including an update on the South-East (January-December 2017) (p. 28). Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
• Öktem, K., & Akkoyunlu, K. (2016). Exit from democracy: Illiberal governance in Turkey and beyond. Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 16(4), 469–480. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683857.2016.1253231
• Öniş, Z. (2019). Turkey under the challenge of state capitalism: The political economy of the late AKP era. Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 19(2), 201–225. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683857.2019.1594856
• Öniş, Z., & Kutlay, M. (2020). Otoriter Kapitalizmin Yükselişi: Değişen Küresel Dengeler ve Demokrasinin Geleceği Üzerine’’. İktisat ve Toplum Dergisi. https://www.academia.edu/download/64735058/Onis_2c_Kutlay_ITD_120.pdf
• Oyan, O. (2017, July 18). AKP’nin yeni düzeni. https://www.oguzoyan.com.tr/18-07-2017-sol-portal-akpnin-yeni-duzeni/
• Özen, H. (2014). Medeniyet arayışından demokrasi çağrısına: 1910’lardan 2010’lara Kürt hareketinin ideolojisi. In E. Toros (Ed.), Türkiye’nin son 10 yılı (pp. 73–103). Atılım Üniveristesi Yayınları.
• Poulantzas, N. (1982). Political power and social classes (T. O’Hagan, Trans.; 2d impression). Verso.
• Poulantzas, N. (with Hall, S.). (2000). State, power, socialism (P. Camiller, Trans.; New edition). Verso Books.
• Saraçoğlu. (2015). Book Review: Gürcan, Efe Can, and Efe Peker. Challenging Neoliberalism at Turkey’s Gezi Park: From Private Discontent to Collective Class Action. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2015. 202 pp. US$95.00 (hardcover). WorkingUSA The Journal of Labor & Society, 18(3), 518–521. https://doi.org/10.1111/wusa.12203
• Şenalp, M. G., Küçüker, M. C., & Şengör-Şenalp, E. (2022). Transnational Rivalries and Left Politics: An Amsterdam School Perspective on Turkey’s “Ergenekon” Trials. Science & Society, 86(3), 343–369. https://doi.org/10.1521/siso.2022.86.3.343
• Şimşek, S. (2004). New Social Movements in Turkey Since 1980. Turkish Studies, 5(2), 111–139. https://doi.org/10.1080/1468384042000228611
• Şık, A. (2014). Paralel yürüdük biz bu yollarda: AKP-Cemaat ittifakı nasıl daǧıldı? (İkinci basım). Postacı Yayınevi.
• Sözen, Y. (2016). The parliamentary elections in Turkey, November 2015. Electoral Studies, 43, 200–203. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2016.05.005
• Sözen, Y. (2019). Competition in a Populist Authoritarian Regime: The June 2018 Dual Elections in Turkey. South European Society and Politics, 24(3), 287–315. https://doi.org/10.1080/13608746.2019.1688515
• Sürek, K. T. (2017, February 6). Anayasa değişikliği ne getiriyor, ne götürüyor? Evrensel.net. https://www.evrensel.net/haber/307083/anayasa-degisikligi-ne-getiriyor-ne-goturuyor
• Tanca, D., Aydoğ, E., Murphy, A., & Zinciroğlu, Ö. (2020). The Political and Economic Impact of The Coronavirus Pandemic in Turkey (Economy & Globalization, p. 32). Centre for Economics and Foreign Policy Studies (EDAM). https://edam.org.tr/en/economics-and-energy/the-political-and-economic-impact-of-the-coronavirus-pandemic-in-turkey
• Tansel, C. B. (2018). Authoritarian Neoliberalism and Democratic Backsliding in Turkey: Beyond the Narratives of Progress. South European Society and Politics, 23(2), 197–217. https://doi.org/10.1080/13608746.2018.1479945
• Taşkın, Y. (2008). AKP’s Move to “Conquer” the Center‐Right: Its Prospects and Possible Impacts on the Democratization Process. Turkish Studies, 9(1), 53–72. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683840701814000
• The Economist. (2016, February 4). Getting off the train. The Economist. https://www.economist.com/special-report/2016/02/04/getting-off-the-train
• The Economist. (2018, June 28). Erdogan inaugurates a new political era in Turkey. The Economist. https://www.economist.com/europe/2018/06/28/erdogan-inaugurates-a-new-political-era-in-turkey
• Tombuş, H. E. (2013). Reluctant Democratization: The Case of the Justice and Development Party in Turkey. Constellations, 20(2), 312–327. https://doi.org/10.1111/cons.12037
• Tsarouhas, D. (2021). Neoliberalism, Liberal Intergovernmentalism and EU–Turkey Relations. In W. Reiners & E. Turhan (Eds), EU-Turkey Relations: Theories, Institutions, and Policies (pp. 39–61). Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-70890-0_2
• Tuğal, C. (2013, June 4). Occupy Gezi: The Limits of Turkey’s Neoliberal Success. Jadaliyya - جدلية. https://www.jadaliyya.com/Details/28725
• Varis, M. (2005, January 11). The New Turkish Economy and EU Accession Talks [Policy Analysis]. The Washington Institute. https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/new-turkish-economy-and-eu-accession-talks
• Weber, M. (1978). Economy and society: An outline of interpretative sociology (G. Roth & C. Wittich, Eds). University of California press.
• Yalman, G. L. (2014). AKP İktidarında Söylem ve Siyaset: Neyin Krizi? In S. Coşar & G. Yücesan-Özdemir (Eds), İktidarın Şiddeti: AKP’li Yıllar, Neoliberalizm ve İslamcı Politikalar (pp. 23–46). Metis Yayınları.
• Yeşil, B. (2018). Authoritarian Turn or Continuity? Governance of Media through Capture and Discipline in the AKP Era. South European Society and Politics, 23(2), 239–257. https://doi.org/10.1080/13608746.2018.1487137
• Yeşilada, B. A. (2016). The future of Erdoğan and the AKP. Turkish Studies, 17(1), 19–30. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683849.2015.1136089
• Yılmaz, Z. (2020). Erdoğan’s presidential regime and strategic legalism: Turkish democracy in the twilight zone. Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, 20(2), 265–287. https://doi.org/10.1080/14683857.2020.1745418
• Zürcher, E. J. (2017). Turkey: A Modern History (1st ed). I. B. Tauris & Company, Limited.