Authoritarianism Is Turkey’s Biggest Economic Risk
More than just a popular mayor, Ekrem İmamoğlu is a national symbol of the political pluralism and democratic possibility that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has sought to quash. Given the precarious state of the Turkish economy, his sudden arrest and imprisonment may prove to be the last straw.
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PROVIDENCE – Twelve years ago, I published a commentary that asked: “Why is Turkey Rebelling?” Demonstrators had flooded the streets of Istanbul to protect Gezi Park from being turned into a shopping mall. Today, they are back, not for trees or green spaces, but in response to the culmination of years of lawlessness and creeping authoritarianism. Then, as now, the protests reflect a deep, mounting frustration with the steady dismantling of Turkey’s democratic institutions.