Political Economy of Authoritarian Populism

This project aims to undertake a political economy account of authoritarian populism based on a comparison of Turkish and Hungarian cases. Extant studies primarily focus on how populist governments have a tendency to undermine democratic regimes without offering a clear causal account to explain why populists trigger democratic breakdown in only some cases and how they manage to obtain sustained popular support for this goal. In addressing these questions, my proposed study will engage in a detailed analysis of the policies pursued by the AKP and Fidesz governments over the past decade. I am looking for students interested in populism and party politics to conduct research on primary and secondary documents and gather statistical data on key topics.