Publication

Prior to the Turkish parliamentary elections in 2011 it was claimed that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was set to impose a dictatorship of the conservative majority. As it turns out, the scenario of authoritarian majority rule was overblown and instead Turkey’s real problems come to the fore again. The judiciary continues to be instrumentalized for political ends, and there is a lack of an opposition to hold the government to deeper democratization by espousing credible liberal positions. But the biggest headache is the Kurdish problem, which is coming to a head again.