Dr. Hakki Tas

Recent data indicates that countries led by more populist leaders are less likely to have a military with veto power.  Hakkı Taş explores the populist centralisation of power that fosters control over the armed forces, and its impact on civilian oversight.

Using the case of Turkey’s Africa policy, this article argues for adopting a process-oriented approach to analysing the foreign policies of (autocratising) states by focusing on the foreign policy situations in which they mobilize power resources; and the extent to which they attempt to gain control over societal power resources.

Using the case of Turkey’s Africa policy under the AKP, this article challenges this reading and its underlying conceptual assumptions.

This article translates Michael Mann’s notion of infrastructural power into the foreign policy realm and develops a conceptual framework that allows for the systematic treatment of states’ strategic efforts at mobilising domestic non-state actors.

Dr. Taş contends that Turkey is moving further from competitive authoritarianism toward full authoritarian consolidation. As electoral legitimacy weakens, coercion fills the void, revealing a regime reliant on fear, control, and chrono-political narratives to survive.

Since 2020, Turkey has pursued a broader normalization effort with both European and Middle Eastern countries, making this stance nothing new. The timing, however, is more closely tied to Europe's growing security concerns and its diminished ability to rely on the U.S., especially with Trump in office.

Book Launch: A Companion to Modern Turkey's Centennial: Political, Sociological, Economic and Institutional Transformations since 1923, Istanbul Policy Center, Istanbul Dr. Hakki Tas (Speaker)

Within a perpetual state of newness reverberating throughout regimes dubbed ‘Enverland’, 'Kemalland', and then ‘Erdoğanland’, this talk rather focuses on the old habits that inform both the substance and the style of Turkish politics

Turkish Republic Turns 100: Reflections on a Century of Statehood, GIGA Berlin Büro, Friedrichstraße 206, 10969 Berlin, and online Organisers: German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) Dr. Hakki Tas (Moderator)

This GIGA Talk commemorates the centennial of the Turkish Republic, providing a comprehensive examination of its political, diplomatic, and societal evolution.