The New Sultan: Erdogan and the Crisis of Modern Turkey
In a world of rising tensions between Russia and the United States, the Middle East and Europe, Sunnis and Shiites, Islamism and liberalism, Turkey is at the epicentre. And at the heart of Turkey is its right-wing populist president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Since 2002, Erdoğan has consolidated his hold on domestic politics while using military and diplomatic means to solidify Turkey as a regional power. His crackdown has been brutal and consistent – thousands of journalists arrested, academics officially banned from leaving the country, university deans fired and many of the highest-ranking military officers arrested. In some senses, the nefarious and failed 2016 coup has given Erdoğan the licence to make good on his repeated promise to bring order and stability under a ‘strongman’. Here, leading Turkish expert Soner Cagaptay will look at Erdoğan’s roots in Turkish history, what he believes in and how he has cemented his rule, as well as what this means for the world. The book will also unpick the ‘threats’ Erdogan has worked to combat – from the liberal Turks to the Gulen movement, from coup plotters to Kurdish nationalists – all of which have culminated in the crisis of modern Turkey.
Date: 18 January 2018, 17:00
Venue: St Antony's College - North Site
Venue Details: Seminar Room, European Studies Centre, 70 Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6HR
Speakers: Soner Cagaptay (Washington Institute for Near East Policy), Ceren Lord (School of Interdisciplinary Area Studies)
Organising department: European Studies Centre
Organiser: Julie Adams (St Antony's College, University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address: julie.adams@sant.ox.ac.uk
Host: Othon Anastasakis (St Antony's College, University of Oxford)
Part of: South East European Studies at Oxford (SEESOX)
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Public
Editor: Julie Adams