The Dual State in Turkey

Abstract

Exploring the post-2015 phase in Turkey’s autocratization process through a conceptual perspective based on Ernst Fraenkel’s The Dual State, this paper argues that Turkey’s political regime has evolved into a dual system of rule, characterized by the concurrent existence of a “normative state” that somehow observes its own laws and a “prerogative state” acting arbitrarily beyond the law. The paper begins with a selective survey of the recent work on contemporary forms of authoritarianism. The following section introduces Fraenkel’s original conception of the dual state and offers an interpretive outline regarding its analytical value for contemporary studies of autocratization. Portraying the post-election period in 2015 as a critical juncture in the formation of the dual state in Turkey, I then explore how a sweeping wave of securitization along with the extensive abuse of emergency powers created an extralegal sphere and fostered a comprehensive institutional transformation towards dual state. The article’s final section discusses what is new about this transformation in the broader context of Turkish constitutional history.

Keywords

• dual state
• Ernst Fraenkel
• state of emergency
• Turkish constitutionalism
• autocratization
• law and authoritarianism