A Glimpse Into the Next Decade of Erdogan's 'New Turkey'

Upon winning his second term as president in June, and assuming the strong executive powers that had been approved by voters in a 2017 referendum, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cemented what he had long been seeking: the creation of a new political regime, one that is increasingly fashioned in his image. The "new Turkey," as Erdogan calls it, is a country fast becoming insular and inward-looking. From Erdogan's perspective, Turkey's founding elite of the 1920s created a state, society and culture fashioned according to the preferences of one man, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. So why shouldn't he try to do the same and fashion a new Turkey according to his preferences? The critical difference between the visions of Erdogan and Ataturk, however, are stark and will have greatly diverging consequences for the country's international standing and societal development....