Dual agent of transition: how Turkey perpetuates and challenges neo-patrimonial patterns in its post-Soviet neighbourhood

As hybrid regimes persist, we need to better understand their
behaviour in international affairs. Concentrating on business
actors, we use a qualitative study of Turkey’s foreign relations with
Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine in the period 2014–
2018 to explore how hybrid regimes disseminate regime-related
principles. Inspired by the concepts of neo-patrimonialism and
limited access orders, we argue that hybrid regimes lack cohesion
and cannot compel all relevant actors to disseminate a coherent
set of regime-related principles. Depending on their domestic
environment, Turkish actors transmit both neo-patrimonial closure
and competitive openness, which makes Turkey’s hybrid regime a
dual agent of transition.