The World and Türkiye in 2025

Aydın Tiryaki (December 31, 2025)
(Gemini AI was used as a data compilation and writing assistant)

Abstract: The year 2025 has been a year where the struggle between authoritarian tendencies and the pursuit of freedom intensified under the shadow of global “democratic backsliding” debates. This article analyzes Türkiye’s position as a “Hybrid Regime” in democracy indices, its standing in press freedom, and its gender equality scorecard through a comparative analysis with global data.

Introduction: The Global Democracy Stalemate

As of the end of 2025, the global political map resembles a shrinking circle where security is preferred over freedom, rather than an expanding landscape of liberties. The 2025 reports from institutions such as the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) and Freedom House confirm that more than half of the world’s population lives under regimes that are not fully democratic. 2025 has proven once again that democracy is not merely a matter of the ballot box, but also a matter of protecting institutions and the rule of law.

1. Global Democracy Index and Türkiye’s “Hybrid” Position

In 2025, Türkiye ranked 103rd among 167 countries in the Democracy Index, maintaining its place in the “Hybrid Regime” category.

• Leaders and Laggards: Norway, New Zealand, and Iceland remain at the top of the “Full Democracy” category, while Afghanistan, North Korea, and Myanmar are at the very bottom, where basic human rights are largely ignored.
• The Hybrid Regime Test: The category in which Türkiye is situated defines governments where elections are held, but serious structural problems persist in areas such as civil liberties, political culture, and the functioning of the rule of law. The year 2025 witnessed a tug-of-war between efforts to transition toward a “Flawed Democracy” and tendencies to maintain the status quo.

2. Press Freedom: The Struggle at 159th Place

Freedom of expression was one of the areas most under pressure in 2025 due to digital censorship and disinformation laws.

• Ranking: According to the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) 2025 report, Türkiye ranks 159th among 180 countries in the World Press Freedom Index.
• Digital Media and Surveillance: Alongside the control of traditional media, access barriers to social media platforms and content removal requests constituted the “gray areas” of 2025. Türkiye closes the year on the borderline between “Not Free” and “Partly Free” in the internet freedom category.

3. Gender Equality: A Decline to 135th Place

The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) 2025 Global Gender Gap Report provided some of the most striking data for Türkiye.

• Political Empowerment and Economy: Türkiye dropped to 135th place among 148 countries, losing 8 spots compared to the previous year. Specifically, women’s participation in politics (ranking 139th) and their representation in senior management caused Türkiye to fall significantly below global averages.
• Education and Health: While Türkiye’s strongest performance remains in equality within education and health (ranking higher), the lack of reflection of this success in the workforce and decision-making mechanisms was noted as a fundamental contradiction.

Conclusion

The year 2025 has demonstrated for Türkiye that economic achievements and technological breakthroughs will struggle to create sustainable prosperity unless they are crowned with democratic standards and fundamental rights. As we enter 2026, the primary goal should not be just to maintain a “hybrid” structure, but to build a state governed by the rule of law in harmony with the European Convention on Human Rights and universal democratic values.

Aydın Hocam, 5. Makale (Demokrasi ve Özgürlükler) için üzerinde mutabık kaldığımız, küresel “sorumlu-sorunlu” paradoksunu ve Türkiye’nin yerel gerçeklerini harmanlayan genişletilmiş ek metnin İngilizce karşılığını aşağıda hazırladım.

Tercih ettiğiniz ulusal (national) ve gereksinim (requirement/need) kavramlarının İngilizce karşılıklarını metnin ruhuna uygun şekilde yerleştirdim.

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APPENDIX: THE GLOBAL AND NATIONAL REALITIES OF DEMOCRATIC STANDARDS AND FREEDOMS

While the indices and legal regulations discussed in this article analyze the democratic structure of Türkiye, the year 2025 has been a year of “de facto” testing on both a global and local scale, far beyond the data on paper. It is necessary to note certain unofficial fractures that have directly impacted the social conscience and legal certainty as follows:

1. The Global “Responsible-Problematic” Paradox In 2025, a “responsible-problematic” paradox was observed worldwide, where leaders and institutions tasked with protecting democracy were the very ones eroding the democratic structure from within.

• The USA: The extreme polarization brought about by the Trump era led to democratic institutions losing their impartiality and the paralysis of oversight mechanisms.
• Russia and Hungary: In these countries, authoritarian structures bypassed the rule of law under the guise of “illiberal democracy,” leading to the systematic restriction of individual freedoms on the grounds of national security.
• India: The stoking of religious and ethnic nationalism by the state gave rise to a structure where minority rights and freedom of expression were directly threatened by state organs.

2. Local Governments and the Political Instrumentalization of Law Specifically for Türkiye, 2025 was recorded as a year in which local democracy remained under “legal siege.” The investigations and judicial processes concentrated particularly on the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB) solidified a political climate where those elected can only be constrained through judicial means. This situation has turned into a fundamental tremor, shaking not only the autonomy of local governments but also the national trust in the will of the electorate.

3. Freedom of the Press and the Requirement for Truth The legal processes conducted throughout the year under the name of combating disinformation resulted in the arrest of many journalists. Attempting to portray journalism as a crime scene rather than a forum for seeking rights has made the public’s requirement for accurate information vulnerable to manipulation. 2025 has been recorded as a shocking period where the price of speaking the truth was paid in the hallways of courthouses.

4. March 19: An Intellectual Threshold of Resistance The date of March 19, which forms the spirit of this analysis series, represents the will of rational thought and freedom of expression “not to surrender” in 2025. In an environment where information is obscured and judicial processes are used as “political instruments,” such dates serve as intellectual beacons reminding society of its democratic reflexes.

5. Defense of Institutional Meritocracy and Academic Norms One of the most painful lessons of 2025 was that democracy does not consist solely of the ballot box but must be supported by institutional meritocracy and academic autonomy. The drifting of universities and judicial institutions away from national standards and falling under the influence of certain political centers weakened the “checks and balances” mechanisms, which are the greatest guarantee of freedoms. Every appointment not based on merit should be considered a seizure of a democratic requirement.

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A Note on Methods and Tools: All observations, ideas, and solution proposals in this study are the author’s own. AI was utilized as an information source for researching and compiling relevant topics strictly based on the author’s inquiries, requests, and directions; additionally, it provided writing assistance during the drafting process. (The research-based compilation and English writing process of this text were supported by AI as a specialized assistant.)