Whatever his achievements over the past decade, Turkey’s prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is destroying his country’s parlous democracy. That is a profound problem for Turks and Turkey’s Western allies. Staying silent, out of fear that speaking out would harm ...
Read More »Tag Archives: Democracy
Feed SubscriptionTurkey Will Either Lose Erdogan or Democracy
There are two reasons Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan may not survive the current government corruption scandals in Turkey. And if he does, the cost to the “Turkish model” will be enormous. The first is, well, the corruption charges. ...
Read More »Things are Getting Serious in Turkey: Is a Military Coup out of the Question?
Not too long ago, the answer to the question above would be: “Yes, a military takeover, of the kind frequently experienced in Turkey in the past, is no longer an option.” This would be the answer, not only because the ...
Read More »Turkish female MP makes historic plea to preserve Turkey’s secularism
Nov 1, 2013 was an historic day in Turkey as headscarved deputies were allowed for the first time since the 1930’s to sit in Parliament. A disabled female MP addressed the ruling Islamist party AKP in a rousing speech that ...
Read More »Goat Droppings and Real Democracy
“Goat droppings” is the polite translation for a graphic Turkish expression that describes something insipid: The idea is that goat pellets are relatively inoffensive, lacking the quality of real dung. The phrase is the perfect epithet for a package of ...
Read More »Erdogan Says Ready to Die for Democracy as Turkey Protests Flare
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was ready to die to defend democracy and attacked the main opposition party for inciting protesters, after demonstrations flared up again throughout the country. Protesters have fought with police in several ...
Read More »