TITLE:
How Elite Configurations Explain Shifts from Democracy to Authoritarian or Totalitarian Regimes: Turkey as a Case Study
AUTHORS:
Michael Gerlich
KEYWORDS:
Elite Configuration, Democracy, Turkey, Political Elites, Government, Elite Theory, Higley & Burton
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Political Science,
Vol.11 No.2,
April
19,
2021
ABSTRACT: Attempting to predicting the formation of particular types of governance
structures has been one of the central tasks of sociologists and political
scientists. John Higley and Michael Burton argued that the configuration of
elite groups in a society is an important predictor of the governance structure
that develops in that society. The Higley-Burton theory outlines several ways
in which the configuration of elites can predict the transformation of
governance structures, from authoritarian regimes to liberal democracies. In
the current research, this previous theoretical work is extended by
articulating a route by which societies can go the other way—from democracy to
an authoritarian regime. Turkey is being used as a contemporary case study to
show how shifts elite configurations in a democracy can lead to authoritarian
regime. A five-step process for this transformation is outlined. The steps in
this model for one route of moving from an unstable democracy towards autocracy
or dictatorship can be summarized as follows:1) Political success by one group or faction. 2) Establishment
of an inner circle and consolidation of power. 3) Replacement of the inner
circle with weaker members who can be controlled. 4) Self-isolation of the
leader. 5) Government control of opposition and suppression of dissent.