Turkey is on the verge of a major shakeup to its power structure - and it all comes
down to what happens to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Hey guys, I’m Judah, this is NowThis World, and on this episode, we’re looking at the
life of the man touted as the most popular politician in Turkey, who has also been described
as a power-grabber, authoritarian, totalitarian - and, increasingly:
“Erdoğan is becoming a Turkish dictator”
“Remember how President Erdoğan was asking people to vote - democratically - to make
him a dictator?”
But it wasn’t always this way.
Toward the beginning of his time in political leadership, he was known more for progressive
reforms like bolstering freedom of the press, revamping the national currency, and promising
to spearhead Turkey’s membership into the European Union.
But in recent years, Erdoğan has aggressively and at times, violently, doubled down on aggregating
as much power as he can.
As well as what his critics argue has been his goal all along: building a new, religious
Turkey from the ashes of its secular past.
Erdoğan's religious roots date back to his upbringing.
Born on February 26, 1954 to a devout Muslim, working-class family, he attended a religious
school designed to train imams.
“Imam-hatip ” schools were created under Turkey’s first President and founder Mustafa
Kemal Atatürk in 1923 after he abolished Islamic schools, or “madrasas,” to secure
government control over religious schooling.
Erdoğan has previously spoken about the discrimination he felt attending one of these schools amid
a secular society.
That feeling stayed with him.
At University, Erdoğan was mentored by Necmettin Erbakan, who would go on to become the country's
first Islamist Prime Minister.
He joined the youth movement of Erbakan’s party, National Salvation, which would later
rebrand as the Welfare Party, aspiring to reintegrate elements of religion and spirituality
in deeply secular Turkish society.
That secularism was a result of Atatürk’s rule, who created modern Turkey from the ruins
of the Ottoman empire.
And although Atatürk initially implemented progressive reforms his firm belief in separation
of church and state led to the banning of religious-based clothing like the hijab, mosques
were put under state control, and Islam was removed from the constitution as the state
religion.
This caused some of the country’s majority-Muslim population to feel isolated.
Atatürk died in 1938, and series of military coups from 1960 to 1997 followed.
The military acted as “protectors” of the legacy of the father of modern Turkey,
especially when it came to secularism.
The military intervened under the guise of restoring order several times, and the country
saw several periods of military rule, violent clashes between parties, as well as executions
and brutal arrests.
Decades of political chaos left the economy weak and faith in government, even weaker.
Meanwhile in 1994, Erdoğan was elected Mayor of Istanbul.
Many scholars and journalists alike referred to him as the “first Islamist” mayor of
Turkey.
And he was pretty popular - blending transparent and open leadership with the implementation
of religious policies.
He cleaned up the streets, restored the freshwater supply, and even reportedly created an open-door
policy at City Hall - giving out his personal email address.
He didn’t quite advocate to overhaul the entire secular system, but he did refer to
himself as the “imam” of Istanbul, promise to build a mosque in the city center, and
ban alcohol from government buildings.
But he painted this steady move away from secularism as something driven by the people
rather than his own beliefs.
Then, in 1997, he pushed the envelope a bit too far for the military.
At a rally, he read a religious poem which got him arrested for allegedly inciting hatred.
He was sentenced to 10 months in jail, of which he served 4.
And some argue that his stint behind bars made him even more popular with his supporters
- and even his critics.Thousands protested the sentencing, which included Erdoğan being
barred for life from public office.
That didn’t last long.
After being released from jail, Erdoğan co-founded the party that he continues to lead today
- the Justice and Development Party, also known as the AKP party.
Likely having learned lessons from his jail time and the ousting of his former mentor,
Erdoğan loosened up a bit.
He moved away from anti-Western tendencies and advocated for Turkey’s admission to
the EU.
In 2002, the AKP party won a sweeping majority in Parliament - the first single-party majority
in 15 years, and soon after, Parliament reversed Erdoğan’s lifetime ban on political office.
He was appointed Prime Minister in March of 2003 - and reportedly promised not to interfere
with anyone's way of life.
The country was seemingly on a path to democracy.
He enacted political reforms like boosting freedom of the press and reducing the military’s
power over government.
The EU even extended an offer to begin negotiations for membership in 2004 - on the condition
that specific political reforms were met.
Economic reforms resulted in a booming GDP.
But some experts say it was nothing more than a facade.
But things started to change in 2007, when the military made a public statement promising
to protect Turkey’s secularism and expressing opposition to the beliefs of presidential
candidate and AKP co-Founder Abdullah Gul.
Erdoğan responded to the challenge to his authority with a call for early elections,
confident his party would prevail.
And they did.
The party won two consecutive national election victories - in 2007 and 2011.
Another threat to Erdoğan’s power came in 2013 when his government was being investigated
for corruption.
A few of Erdoğan’s confidants and top ministers had to resign, and on their way out, some
called for him to resign, also.
The corruption investigation involved officials accused of taking millions of dollars in bribes
to approve unregulated construction projects, which Erdoğan denounced as an effort to delegitimize
his government, blaming a religious leader he’d previously been aligned with - Fetullah
Gülen.
Erdoğan overhauled the judiciary - reassigning more than 100 judges and prosecutors - many
of whom were Gülen supporters - and tightening his grip over the military.
Around this time, protesters started organizing - calling on Erdoğan to resign and calling
attention to the alleged bribery.
The government cracked down on dissent - jailing protesters, people who criticized Erdoğan
on social media, and journalists.
Then in August 2014, in an effort to further consolidate his power, Erdoğan moved from
Prime Minister to President of Turkey.
Historically, the role of President had been mostly ceremonial, but Erdoğan essentially
absorbed the power of the Prime Minister’s position into his new office as well.
He started using religion as a means to implement his conservative policies - declaring that
Islam defines a woman’s primary role as a mother, and that women and men can’t be
treated equally because it goes against “the laws of nature,”
He restricted alcohol and abortions, and started closing private schools - converting some
into religious Imam Hatip institutions or building new ones entirely.
Then in 2016, tensions culminated in a failed coup attempt to overthrow Erdoğan.
The night became a bloodbath, with 241 people killed and over 2,000 others injured.
Erdoğan sent a mass text asking ordinary citizens to band together with the military
and fight the coup.
With the help of tanks and Turkish fighter jets, they overcame the opposition.
He was merciless in his attempt to hold those who challenged his authority accountable.
Erdoğan blamed the coup on Gülen saying it was his attempt to build his own dictatorship,
and arrested tens of thousands of people suspected of being linked to the Muslim cleric.
And in 2017, he took the power grab even further, narrowly winning a referendum that created
an executive presidency, dispensed with the role of Prime Minister, and could provide
a path for him to rule until 2029.
But human rights groups argue these elections haven’t been free and fair.
So, where does that leave us now?
April 2018 - Erdoğan called for smap parliamentary and presidential elections in June … a whopping
18 months early.
Why?
According to critics - because he thinks he has a better shot at winning.
And Erdoğan has promised to end the state of emergency - imposed on the country in 2016
after the coup attempt - if he does take home a victory.
If no candidate wins over 50% of presidential vote, the top two will go head-to-head in
a second round on July 8th.
And we’ll be watching that closely.