title: Examining state capacity in the context of electoral authoritarianism, regime formation and consolidation in Russia and Turkey
abstract: This paper compares the regimes of Turkey and Russia and how state capacity has facilitated authoritarian regime building at the expense of democratic consolidation. It begins by considering how best to conceptualize the Putin and Erdoğan regimes. Whilst recognizing significant differences between the two cases, we argue that the concepts of electoral authoritarianism and neopatrimonialism are particularly helpful in better understanding how both systems operate. The paper then discusses the con