The Turkish media market as an example of the "uneven playing field" according to Steven Levitsky and Lucan Way. Analysis of the parliamentary and presidential campaigns in 2023

2024, 2024, No. 1

DOI

10.31338/1641-2478pe.1.24.5

Publication date

28.04.2024

Submission date

07.01.2024

Acceptance date

29.03.2024

Publishing model

open access

License type

CC BY 3.0 PL

Field

Social sciences

Discipline

economics and finance, communication and media studies, political science and public administration, management and quality studies, law, sociology, international relations

Language of publication

Polish, English

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Abstract

Over the past few years, researchers have been contemplating the political regime adopted by Turkey under the leadership of president Recep Erdoğan. Drawing upon discussions in the literature, the authors of this article analyse the potential emergence of competitive authoritarianism in the country, as conceptualised by Steven Levitsky and Lucan Way, with a focus on the media sphere. The issue of the so-called "uneven playing field" is examined, along with the connected competitive advantage of the incumbent, illustrated by the media campaign preceding the combined presidential and parliamentary elections in May 2023. Moreover, taking into account the aforementioned variables, a comparative analysis was made of the state of civil liberties and democracy in Turkey against the background of other EU candidate countries.<br>Katarzyna Dośpiał-Borysiak – Ph.D., D.Sc., works at the Department of Political Systems, Faculty of International and Political Studies, University of Łódź. Her main sphere of interests concerns sustainable development, climate policy, regionalism and European integration. Author of books and articles devoted to the Baltic Sea region, in particular the Nordic countries. Within European Economic Area Grants, she carried out scientific research (University of Science and Technology in Trondheim) and international educational projects (e.g. Entrepreneurial Youth for Green Europe). She was a scholarship holder of the government of the Kingdom of Sweden<br>Krystian Maras – PhD candidate in political science, chairman of the Students’ Scientific Club of Political Scientists PolitikON at the Faculty of International and Political Studies, University of Łódź. His research interests include various forms of hybrid and non-democratic regimes, and the internal politics of the Republic of Turkey.

Keywords:

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The Turkish media market as an example of the "uneven playing field" according to Steven Levitsky and Lucan Way. Analysis of the parliamentary and presidential campaigns in 2023

Katarzyna Dośpiał-Borysiak

0000-0003-0425-9987

Krystian Maras

0000-0001-5400-0485

DOI