The melancholy of Turkey
Sudipta Datta
July 02, 2018 00:15 IST
Updated: July 02, 2018 00:39 IST
The melancholy of Turkey
Why the country always appears to be in a state of flux
Conceding defeat to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the June election, Opposition leader Muharrem Ince protested against the “authoritarian” turn of events. He said the “one-man rule” meant that Turkey has departed from democratic values and that such rule poses “a threat to the survival of the country”. With civil liberties under acute pressure and Mr. Erdogan rooted in Islam, Turkey is in a state of flux. However, a look at its history shows that it has always been pulled in many directions. It is at once secular and Islamic, Western and Eastern, democratic and autocratic, with one foot in Europe and the other in Asia.
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