<- Democracy Direction Index
TUR / 2026

Türkiye

Autocratic

deterioration

2026 development data - not published research

9/25
Institutional score

The score supports the assessment. It does not compute the status on its own.

Judicial independence2 / 5

Courts are heavily influenced by executive power and politically sensitive prosecutions.

Media freedom1 / 5

Independent media operate under severe legal, economic and political pressure.

Electoral integrity2 / 5

Elections retain competitive elements but the playing field is structurally unequal.

Civic space & human rights2 / 5

Civic actors and opposition organisations face prosecution, detention and administrative pressure.

Checks & balances2 / 5

Executive concentration has weakened parliamentary and institutional checks.

Confidence: high. Confidence reflects evidence quality and assessment certainty, not democratic quality.

Direction analysis

The direction remains negative. Municipal opposition success has not produced institutional opening; instead, authorities intensified investigations and arrests against opposition representatives.

What changed

Freedom House rates Turkey Not Free at 32/100, down from 33, and documents intensified repression following ruling-party municipal losses.

RETHINKK assessment

RETHINKK classifies Turkey as autocratic and deteriorating. Elections retain some political significance, but the institutional environment is too unequal and coercive to qualify as resilient competition.

Evidence

  • Freedom HouseFreedom in the World 2026 - Turkey2026-03-19 / 2026-08-30Source ->Supports: judicialIndependence, mediaFreedom, electoralIntegrity, civicSpace, checksAndBalances
  • V-Dem InstituteDemocracy Report 2026: Unraveling The Democratic Era?2026-03-17 / 2026-08-30Source ->Supports: judicialIndependence, mediaFreedom, electoralIntegrity, civicSpace, checksAndBalances

History

2026autocraticdeterioration