Publication

This paper examines the Turkish government’s mass arrests and layoffs in the wake of the failed July 2016 military coup. According to the author, 1) the sweeping crackdown is part of a larger effort by President Erdogan to expel alleged supporters of Fethullah Gulen from positions of power; 2) the ongoing repopulation of the bureaucracy with Erdogan’s loyalists mirrors the accusations he levied against Gulen; and 3) the purge has exposed a deep-rooted flaw in Turkey’s supposed democracy – i.e., its bureaucracy and judiciary have become increasingly politicized under Erdogan’s power-hungry rule.