Illiberal democracy and the erosion of academic freedom in the ‘new’ Türkiye

In the aftermath of 9/11, Türkiye’s democratic path has been questioned due to the debates on Islam’s compatibility with Western liberal democracy. The central puzzle of this article is to analyse how Türkiye’s initial trajectory of democratization took an illiberal turn with the erosion of academic freedom under the Justice and Development Party (AKP), deviating from the expectations of a transition from electoral to liberal democracy. After establishing the conceptual and theoretical framework in the first part, the next one summarizes the Turkish paradoxical engagement with liberal democracy and military coups throughout the twentieth century and their impact on academic freedom. The third part focuses on democratic backsliding and a silent regime change under the AKP rule. The last one analyses the symbiotic relationship between the attacks on academic freedom and ‘the rise of illiberal democracy’ in the ‘new’ Türkiye. The article concludes by arguing that the erosion of academic freedom reflects Türkiye’s deepening democratic backsliding and increasing culture of fear and self-censorship during the consolidation of illiberal democracy.