Establishing criteria for functioning democracies that are based on the rule of law seems to be becoming more and more difficult in times of autocratization. Still, it is urgently necessary, since their decline does not take place through open abolition of their basic principles, but rather through small steps, through undermining their substance while maintaining the form, or through lethargy of the institutions in exercising their responsibilities. Using Turkey as an example, the article shows how inventive authoritarian governments can be in exploiting and undermining existing democratic structures and in dismantling democratic pluralism. It also becomes apparent how the so-called »will of the people« can be manipulated and used against democracy itself.
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