Atilla's Musings

Why a Turkish dictator let himself lose an election

Source:al Monitor Date:15Aug2021

Nicholas Danforth asks a very relevant question, but fails to answer it:  Will Erdogan surrender power to the opposition, if he were to lose the next election?  I shall do so in his stead. Yes,

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Will Erdogan’s Afghan gambit pay off in Washington?

Source:al Monitor Date:31Jul2021

A serious article by policy expert Mr Semih Idiz, which nevertheless reads as a satire of Erdogan’s myopic and convoluted thinking.  He could curry favor simply by removing S-400s rather

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Has Erdogan achieved his goal to build his ‘New Turkey’?

Source:al Monitor Date:17Jul2021

A great article penned by politics and history expert Cengiz Candar how the borted 2016 coup attempt mid-wifed Erdogan’s plans to  switch to a one-man regime.  Yet, his victory came at the

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How an exiled mafia boss became the center of Turkish politics

Source:al Monitor Date:19May2021

Watch out for Sedat Peker. He could bring down the Erdogan administration.  The millions-strong audience for his revelation videos on YouTube suggest he is doing a very effective job reching not

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Question Over Forex Reserves Rattles Turkey’s Erdogan

Source:Bloomberg Date:23Apr2021

Aside from the political posturing, the government has finally acknowledged that the question needs answering. In a televised interview on Monday, Albayrak’s successor, Lütfi Elvan, allowed that

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Turkish-Iranian rivalry heats up over Mosul

Source:al Monitor Date:27Feb2021

Earlier this week, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif was quoted as saying that Tehran “reject[s] the Turkish military presence in Syria and Iraq and consider[s] Ankara’s

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UAE vs Turkey: the regional rivalries pitting MBZ against Erdogan

Source:Financial Times Date:26Oct2020

Turkey’s foreign policy moves may be motivated by national interest, but the nation is stepping on too many toes on the way.  Arab boycotts spreading like wildfire is a harbinger of the

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ERDOĞAN’S TURKEY AND THE PROBLEM OF THE 30 MILLION

Source:War on the Rocks Date:25Sep2020

Even though I don’t agree with the dystopian conclusion, this is an excllent article on Erdogan’s  divide and conquer strategy     There is reason to think that the present

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Modi and Erdogan thrive on divisive identity politics

Source:Financial Times Date:11Aug2020

Mr Modi is a Hindu nationalist. Mr Erdogan is an Islamist. The Indian and Turkish leaders look like potential rivals in a clash of civilisations. But they are pursuing political projects that are

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Coronavirus has weakened the West’s nationalists

Source:Washington Post Date:22Jul2020

This study of populist-nationalist leaders doesn’t mention Mr Erdogan, but there are plenty of lessons for him to learn.   In Western Europe, Trump’s ideological brethren have slumped.

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