Few analysts have looked at the effects on Erdogan’s future – and that of the Turkish state – if the final votes tip the polls towards the ‘No’ option.
After almost a century of marching in lockstep with the secular ideas of Ataturk and the Kemalists, Erdogan is taking a hammer to the entire edifice.
On July 15th, the world saw the consequences of the struggle between religious forces and the secular military contending for control of the Turkish state.
Immediate speculation following the coup attempt says that Turkey is likely to move further away from the West. But Ankara has deep ties with Europe and is an important member of NATO.
The Kremlin keeps accusing the West of meddling in Russian politics but embraces Turkey that openly claims large swaths of its territory.
Ankara has manifested a habit of eagerly seeking concessions and funding from the EU, but being notably less keen on keeping its own side of the bargains.
In dealing with this immediate threat, it behooves the Turkish government to put politicking on the back-burner, separate the non-violent opposition from the violent, and mend fences with the former. Swallowing that bitter pill is necessary for terrorism to be brought “to its knees.”
The multiplicity of Kurdish national movements throughout the Middle East adds an additional layer of complexity in the fight against ISIS.
Turkey, long hailed as a bastion of secular democracy in the Muslim world, could be spiraling toward an all-out civil war as conflicts between Turkish security forces and Kurds as well as other ethnic minorities continue to escalate.
Mr. Sadjadpour recently sat down with Reza Akhlaghi of the Foreign Policy Association to discuss Saudi-Iranian dynamics and the increasing sectarian rivalry between the two Middle Eastern heavyweights.
Akın Ünver sits down with Reza Akhlaghi of the Foreign Policy Association to discuss Turkey’s current foreign policy challenges and the situation in Kobane.
As a U.S. ally and member of NATO, Turkey has a large, well-trained, and well-funded military with more than a half-million personnel in uniform. It is also the only NATO nation that shares a border with both Iraq and Syria, where the Islamic State continues to take and hold significant territory.
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