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Transnationalization of Opposition Strategy under Competitive Authoritarianism: Evidence from Turkey and Hungary

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 July 2023

Pelin Ayan Musil Open the ORCID record for Pelin Ayan Musil [Opens in a new window]  and
Şebnem Yardımcı-Geyikçi Open the ORCID record for Şebnem Yardımcı-Geyikçi [Opens in a new window]
Pelin Ayan Musil*
Affiliation:
School of International Relations and Diplomacy, Anglo-American University, Prague, Czech Republic
Şebnem Yardımcı-Geyikçi
Affiliation:
Institute of Science and Ethics, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
*
Corresponding author. Pelin Ayan Musil; Email: pelin.ayan@aauni.edu
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Abstract

Despite a growing body of literature on the advancement of autocratic tactics and toolkits in competitive authoritarian regimes (CARs), we lack sufficient knowledge on the strategies that the opposition builds against populist-authoritarian governments. Using two top autocratizing cases – Turkey and Hungary – this article singles out ‘transnationalization’ as one such novel strategy. ‘Transnationalization’ is defined as a strategy through which opposition-led subnational executives transform local and global boundaries by consciously forming a link with the liberal-democratic world in order to expand their space for manoeuvre. Conducting a qualitative content analysis of the Istanbul and Budapest mayors' international Twitter accounts and using evidence from elite interviews with officials from Istanbul and Budapest municipalities, we demonstrate the material, symbolic and political means of this strategy and the rationalist and normative motivations behind it. By discussing the what, how and why of a transnationalization strategy, we fill an important gap in the scholarship regarding opposition strategies in CARs.

Keywords

transnationalizationopposition strategiescompetitive authoritarianisminternational linkageTurkeyHungary
Type
Article
Information
Government and Opposition , Volume 59 , Issue 2 , April 2024 , pp. 341 - 359
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Government and Opposition Limited

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