14 Years of Waiting: Kılıçdaroğlu and the Rise of Authoritarianism in Turkey and Beyond

Why does a leader who consistently loses elections remain at the
helm of the opposition? In this episode, we dive deep into the
political paradox of Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu,  who is the longest
serving opposition leader in Turkey between 2010 and 2023, and
what his enduring leadership reveals about the crisis of
opposition in competitive authoritarian regimes like Turkey.
Professor Behlül Özkan joins us to discuss his enlightening new
article “Competing Against Erdoğan, Collaborating with the
State,” where he argues that Kılıçdaroğlu’s success strategy to
the power in politics wasn’t built on mass support, but on
state-aligned strategy and bureaucratic inertia.


We explore how the opposition failed to challenge Erdoğan’s
dominance, why internal democracy matters, and what lessons
Turkey’s experience holds for other democracies facing
authoritarian backslide. Tune in for a candid conversation that
rethinks opposition politics from the inside out.