How do autocratizing elected governments neutralize public challenges to their rule? This seminar explores this question in the specific case of Turkey, one of the paradigmatic cases of gradual autocratization in the 21st century, by looking at the governmental strategies deployed to manage its protest arena in the last decade. It specifically examines the uses of law and emergency powers in the repression of dissent and the public reactions to such measures by drawing on a multi-method research project that entails two original datasets on protests and protest bans and an original public opinion survey. It will summarize the key theoretical and empirical findings of this research and locate them in broader discussions on autocratization/democratic backsliding, protest repression, and emergency powers.

During the course 2022-23, IBEI has organised a series of research seminars, which normally take place once a week. Check the 2022-23 programme