Locally Contested

Abstract

Authoritarian states engage in transnational repression to control dissent beyond their borders, often relying on host-state cooperation. Yet less is known about how host-state elite configurations, governing practices and sovereignty shape the effectiveness of such efforts. This article examines the limits of Turkey’s transnational authoritarianism in Kosovo between 2013 and 2025. Contributing to the literature on transnational repression, gatekeeper elites, and ontological security, it argues that Kosovo’s fragmented elites and sovereignty concerns constrained Turkey’s ability to sustain repression, even where patron–client relations existed. Empirically, the article draws on 32 semi-structured interviews and an unpublished parliamentary report. Its empirical case studies analyze the 2018 deportation of Turkish citizens, trace the reconfiguration of Turkish influence after Kosovo’s 2021 government change, and examine a failed attempt by Turkey to mobilize diaspora loyalty through non-coercive means. The findings highlight the conditional, politically costly and reversible nature of transnational authoritarianism in fragmented political environments.