{"title":"Defeating Populists: The Case of 2019 Istanbul Elections","authors":"Seda Demiralp, E. Balta","doi":"10.1080/13608746.2021.1923639","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT How can populist competitive authoritarian regimes be defeated through elections? In this article, we focus on the 2019 municipal campaign strategy of the opposition Istanbul candidate Ekrem İmamoglu as a case study of a successful challenge to a populist competitive authoritarian regime. We argue that such regimes may be prone to defeat when their opponents use what we call an ‘inverted populist’ strategy. This strategy involves three key elements: adopting an indirect and gradualist approach that avoids direct confrontation with the populist leader and the popular values s/he represents, redefining the ‘the people’ by including previously excluded groups, and promising redistribution to disadvantaged groups.","PeriodicalId":47304,"journal":{"name":"South European Society and Politics","volume":"47 1","pages":"1 - 26"},"PeriodicalIF":3.7000,"publicationDate":"2021-01-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"15","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"South European Society and Politics","FirstCategoryId":"90","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/13608746.2021.1923639","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"POLITICAL SCIENCE","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 15
Abstract
ABSTRACT How can populist competitive authoritarian regimes be defeated through elections? In this article, we focus on the 2019 municipal campaign strategy of the opposition Istanbul candidate Ekrem İmamoglu as a case study of a successful challenge to a populist competitive authoritarian regime. We argue that such regimes may be prone to defeat when their opponents use what we call an ‘inverted populist’ strategy. This strategy involves three key elements: adopting an indirect and gradualist approach that avoids direct confrontation with the populist leader and the popular values s/he represents, redefining the ‘the people’ by including previously excluded groups, and promising redistribution to disadvantaged groups.
期刊介绍:
A leading point of reference for scholars of Southern Europe, South European Society and Politics promotes both comparative and inter-disciplinary analyses, as well as offering innovative single county and sub-national studies. The journal acts as a forum for social, economic, cultural, contemporary historical and political approaches to research on the region, and is particularly keen to sponsor policy–focused studies in all these disciplines. The journal publishes research articles; South European Atlas with election reports and articles on other subjects of topical interest, and an extensive book reviews section, including both review articles and individual book reviews.