A coalitional perspective on democratic backsliding: elite coalitions and the bureaucracy in Turkey

Coban, M. Kerem; Yesilkagit, Kutsal

Abstract

The rise of populism and the authoritarian shift has triggered a debate on the politics-administration nexus with a focus on the politics of democratic backsliding and the role of the bureaucracy. Recent studies have increasingly concentrated on the strategies of populist politicians to control the bureaucracy and the responses from the bureaucracy to these attempts. However, this dyadic approach to the politics-administration nexus remains limited in explaining fully the ramifications of democratic backsliding on bureaucracy. In this article, we propose a coalitional perspective on the politics of bureaucracy during the process of democratic backsliding. Illustrating the usefulness of this perspective through the Turkish context, the article highlights the role of intra-elite conflict and inter-elite competition in shaping the politics-administration nexus and explains why and how democratic backsliding has led to subordination, instrumentalization, and even deconstruction of bureaucracy in Turkey. As such, the article contributes to our understanding of the dynamics at play during the process of backsliding and the transformation of the politics-administration nexus.

Citation

Coban, M. K., & Yesilkagit, K. (online). A coalitional perspective on democratic backsliding: elite coalitions and the bureaucracy in Turkey. Policy Studies, 1-26. https://doi.org/10.1080/01442872.2025.2530057

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 1, 2025
• Online Publication Date: Jul 14, 2025
• Deposit Date: Jul 15, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 15, 2025
• Journal: Policy Studies
• Print ISSN: 0144-2872
• Electronic ISSN: 1470-1006
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis Group
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Pages: 1-26
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/01442872.2025.2530057
• Keywords: Democratic backsliding, coalitional politics, elite coalitions, bureaucracy, politics-administration nexus
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/01442872.2025.2530057
• Additional Information: Peer Review Statement: The publishing and review policy for this title is described in its Aims & Scope.; Aim & Scope: http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=aimsScope&journalCode=cpos20; Received: 2024-06-09; Accepted: 2025-07-01; Published: 2025-07-14