Author: Senem Aydın-Düzgit | Journal of Democracy

Senem Aydın-Düzgit is professor of international relations at Sabancı University and director of the Istanbul Policy Center.

October 2026, Volume 37, Issue 4

The Age of Authoritarian Abundance

Senem Aydın-Düzgit
Berk Esen
Sebnem Gumuscu

For the first time in a century, every great power is autocratic or heading that way. In a post-unipolar world, strongmen shop for patrons and make deals while democrats increasingly are on the defensive.

October 2023, Volume 34, Issue 4

How Erdoğan Rules Through Crisis

Senem Aydın-Düzgit
Mustafa Kutlay
E. Fuat Keyman

Turkey’s economic and political crises have only worsened, but the autocratic president remains in power. His secret? He uses the levers of the state to shield his supporters from harm, while punishing the rest.