The strongman vs. the sage? Populist performances and political masculinities in the 2023 Turkish elections

Authoritarian populist performances are deeply intertwined with particular ways of ‘doing masculinity’. Previous studies have shown that combative, aggressive, ‘rule-breaking’ performances of masculinity enabled populist opposition leaders to enact and perform anti-elite populist discourses, facilitating the mobilisation of discontent. The case of Turkey, a resilient case of authoritarian populism, demonstrates that performances of masculinity also serve incumbent populists to cast themselves as protectors of society, reinvigorate their paternalist claims to legitimacy and amplify the affective dimension of their messages. This dynamic becomes especially prominent during election campaigns, where performances of masculinity become a significant part of the contest between populist incumbents and their opponents. Focusing on Turkey’s 2023 presidential election and the campaigns of the two main contenders–incumbent President Erdoğan and opposition candidate Kılıçdaroğlu–the study argues that authoritarian populist leaders perform combative, aggressive masculinity to project competence even during economic downturns or institutional decay. In doing so, they further masculinise the political sphere, relegating rivals to subordinate positions within a symbolic hierarchy of masculinities and marginalising alternative models of leadership. The study contributes to understanding the gendered performative dimensions that play into the resilience of authoritarian populism.