Authoritarian Conditioning in State’s Witch-Hunt: The Discursive Making of the Enemies and Societal Collaboration for Denunciations: Evidence from Turkey

This study examines the proliferation of popular denunciations in Turkey over the past decade, a phenomenon that aligns with the intensification of authoritarianism under the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the leadership of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The regime has strategically capitalized on citizen-driven denunciations to target political opponents during its ongoing witch-hunt, particularly in the turbulent post-coup socio-political climate. This raises a compelling question: how can mass reporting practices thrive in hybrid regimes like Turkey, which lack the formalized mechanisms seen in 20th-century totalitarian states such as Nazi Germany or contemporary authoritarian regimes like China? Despite the growing significance of these practices, scholarship on citizen-led denunciations has largely focused on extreme totalitarian contexts, leaving a critical gap in understanding how such practices function in regimes that combine authoritarianism with ostensibly democratic institutions. This study addresses this gap by investigating the political and societal dynamics that have enabled the emergence and persistence of mass reporting in Turkey. Employing a multi-level analysis, the research examines state-society interactions through the lens of denunciations, with a focus on Turkey’s broader trajectory of de-democratization. It hypothesizes that the regime has engineered denunciation practices as a tool of social control, embedding them within the framework of nominally democratic structures. To explore this, the study asks two key questions: “How has the denunciation mechanism been established in Turkey over the past decade?” and “What authoritarian logic underpins its implementation?” As part of the multi-level examination of popular denunciations in Turkey, this paper focuses on our macro-level analysis that explores the politics and ideology informing citizen mobilization in participating in denouncing as reflected in the political discourse. Analyzing 70 presidential speeches delivered between 2013 and 2023 using the Discourse-Historical Approach, a well-established method within Critical Discourse Analysis, the study reveals how the state has ideologically framed and legitimized denunciatory practices. Utilising NVivo software and an abductive analytical approach, the research identifies three overarching discursive strategies: enemy-making, collaboration-seeking, and fearmongering. Our analysis found that these strategies operate as psycho-political tools, shaping public perceptions and behaviors in ways that sustain authoritarian control. The study conceptualizes this process as “authoritarian conditioning,” highlighting how the regime fosters societal compliance and participation in its witch-hunt. By systematically constructing a discourse of internal threats and enemies, the political actors create a polarised societal landscape where collaboration against perceived enemies is encouraged. Simultaneously, fearmongering intensifies societal insecurities, compelling citizens to align with the regime’s agenda. This analysis advances our understanding of hybrid authoritarianism by demonstrating how discursive strategies facilitate mass participation in state-led initiatives, even in the absence of formal coercive mechanisms. By bridging the gap between totalitarian and hybrid regime studies, this research provides a nuanced account of how authoritarian practices are adapted to contemporary political contexts. It further sheds light on the implications of these practices for democracy, governance, and societal cohesion in Turkey and beyond.