I propose to present a chapter of my dissertation. My dissertation very broadly is about masculinities of the Turkish state. The chapter I intend to present focuses on hegemonic masculinity of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (the ex-prime minister of Turkey) and his political power and politics. At the turn of the millennium, one-man-rule seems to have emerged in some countries including but not limited to Russia and Turkey under officially democratic countries while ironically autocratic rules are being challenged by their publics in most of the Middle East. In democracies where the government turns out to be associated with a single political leader, it is crucial to explore implications of gendered charisma for democracy and statehood. In this paper (a chapter in my dissertation), by paying attention to hegemonic masculine charisma, I intend to analyze the relationship between hegemonic masculinity and democratization/authoritarianism. This discussion will also provide insights about the link between hegemonic masculinity and statehood. In order to explore these, I analyze how Turkish Premier Recep Tayyip Erdoğan utilizes shifting forms of hegemonic masculinity in his discourse and politics across a range of issues during different phases of his rule since his Justice and Development Party came to power in 2002. The data for this research draws from two case studies: Erdoğan’s relationship with the Turkish military elite and his response to the nationwide Gezi protests that broke out in the summer of 2013. By utilizing a conceptual framework both from critical masculinity studies and the ethnographic state literature, this paper asks if there is a relationship between hegemonic masculinity and authoritarianism/democratization. It also seeks to address what some of the implications of hegemonic masculinity for the paradoxical character of the state are. Findings of this research suggest hegemonic masculinity serves as an “ideology” a) to blur the boundary between democratization and authoritarianism, b) to blur the paradoxical character of the state which helps maintain and reproduce the state idea despite its contradictory practices. Keywords: gendered charisma; hegemonic masculinity; democratization; the political elite; Turkey