This talk examines both the decline and consolidation of competitive authoritarian power at the local level in Turkey. Moving beyond national politics, it focuses on regions where the ruling AKP (Justice and Development Party) has either lost significant ground or reinforced its dominance. Through ethnographic research, electoral data, and interviews, the discussion explores how political networks, economic dependencies, and cultural affiliations shape the trajectory of authoritarian resilience and erosion. It highlights how dissent takes root in regions where control weakens and the strategies used to sustain power in areas where the regime remains entrenched. By analyzing these contrasting dynamics, the talk provides a deeper understanding of the mechanisms that both undermine and reinforce competitive authoritarian rule in Turkey.

Evren Balta is a Professor of Political Science at Özyeğin University in Istanbul, Turkey. Her research spans comparative and international politics, with a particular focus on internal conflicts in Russia and Turkey, Turkish foreign policy, and civil-military relations. She has also conducted extensive comparative analyses of democratic backsliding and populism in both countries. Additionally, her work explores how transnational inequalities reshape citizenship regimes.Dr. Balta has published widely in leading academic journals, including Party Politics, Democratization, Ethnic and Racial Studies, and Sociology, as well as in numerous edited volumes in Turkish, English, and French. Among her many contributions, she is the author of the award-winning book The American Passport in Turkey: National Citizenship in the Age of Transnationalism (Turkish edition, 2024). Throughout her academic career, she has held positions at Yıldız Technical University, Boğaziçi University, New York University, and the Institute for Human Sciences in Austria. Her research has been supported by prestigious institutions, including the Fulbright Program, the Mellon Foundation, and TÜBİTAK. Recognized for her outstanding academic achievements, Dr. Balta received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Political Science Program at CUNY-The Graduate Center. Currently, she is a visiting scholar at Harvard University’s Weatherhead Center for International Affairs and a non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington, DC.