Presidential decrees as instruments of autocratization: the case of Turkey’s institutional transformation

This study examines Turkey’s political transformation under its presidential regime, focusing on the role of presidential decrees (cumhurbaşkanlığı kararnameleri, CBKs) in consolidating executive dominance. Analysing 147 decrees issued during President Erdoğan’s first term (2018–2023) in the presidential system, it highlights three dynamics driving this shift: centralization of executive authority, erosion of institutional checks, and challenges in crisis response. Drawing on Karl Loewenstein’s theory of autocracy, the study identifies five critical areas reshaped by CBKs: policymaking, institutional structuring, civil service regulation, financial administration, and oversight. The findings reveal how these decrees dismantled democratic safeguards, empowered the presidency, and reconfigured state power, offering insights into Turkey’s autocratization as a key case of democratic backsliding.