nam 22 uu 4500 10.59704/11c757ea52fbdcfb DE-Verfassungsblog cr||||| 251014s2025||||xx#|||||o|||| ||| 0|eng|| 10.59704/11c757ea52fbdcfb doi eng 342 23 Kars Kaynar, Ayşegül Author aut (orcid)0000-0002-5011-2436 Autocratic Legalism vs. Lawfare - Turkey’s Presidential Candidate Behind the Bars Kars Kaynar, Ayşegül Verfassungsblog 2025-10-14 Text txt rdacontent Computermedien c rdamedia Online-Ressource cr rdacarrier Ekrem İmamoğlu, the Mayor of Istanbul, has been imprisoned for 200 days without indictment as the Turkish government weaponizes the judiciary to eliminate political opposition. This case exemplifies a shift from autocratic legalism to "lawfare," where legal tools are used strategically to suppress democratic competition. İmamoğlu’s situation reveals the deepening authoritarianism in Turkey as the ruling regime abandons fair elections in favor of coercive control. CC BY-SA 4.0 Autocratic Legalism Democratic Backsliding fool case law fare Max Steinbeis Verfassungsblog gGmbH Verfassungsblog 2366-7044 https://verfassungsblog.de/autocratic-legalism-vs-lawfare/ raw object