Talk:
\n\u201cAuthoritarian Technocracy in Turkey: Presidentialism, Accountability, and Executive Power\u201d<\/p>\n
by
\nD\u00fczg\u00fcn Arslanta\u015f
\nCologne Center for Comparative Politics
\nUniversity of Cologne, Germany
\ndarslan4@uni-koeln.de<\/p>\n
Date and Room Info
\nFriday, February 13, 2026, 12:30 p.m.
\nH-232<\/p>\n
Abstract<\/p>\n
Turkey\u2019s recent transition from a parliamentary system to an \u00e0 la Turca presidential system under the Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalk\u0131nma Partisi, AKP) has significantly transformed the nature of technocratic governance. This paper argues that the institutional shift has resulted in two major changes concerning the appointment of technocrats to government. First, executive authority has become increasingly concentrated within the presidential complex (K\u00fclliye) through the creation of an expansive administrative structure. This reorganization has diminished the independence of partisan ministers and unsettled the conventional bureaucratic chain of command, thereby enhancing the power of technocrats working directly under the presidency. Second, the appointment of technocratic ministers from outside the legislature, constrained judicial oversight, and the dispersion of executive authority across multiple actors have eroded political accountability. Taken together, these developments reflect a broader transformation in which technocratic governance \u2013 once instrumental in advancing neoliberal reforms and securing external legitimacy \u2013 now functions as a key mechanism for institutionalizing the personalized authoritarian regime.<\/p>\n
Short Bio<\/p>\n
D\u00fczg\u00fcn Arslanta\u015f is a Lecturer and Post-doctoral Researcher (Habilitation candidate) at the Cologne Center for Comparative Politics, University of Cologne. Previously, he served as a doctoral and post-doctoral researcher at the Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies. He has held Visiting Scholar positions in the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Oxford and the Department of Sociology at Columbia University. His research focuses on comparative analysis of political institutions, with a particular emphasis on Southern and Central Europe and the Global South. His current project investigates the institutional constraints on authoritarian transformation within hybrid and democratic contexts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Talk: \u201cAuthoritarian Technocracy in Turkey: Presidentialism, Accountability, and Executive Power\u201d by D\u00fczg\u00fcn Arslanta\u015f Cologne Center for Comparative Politics University of Cologne, Germany darslan4@uni-koeln.de Date and Room Info Friday, February 13, 2026, 12:30 p.m. H-232 Abstract Turkey\u2019s recent transition from a parliamentary system to an \u00e0 la Turca presidential system under [\u2026] <\/p>\n