Erdogan's hubris
Friday, 05 April 2019 | Pioneer
The Turkish President may have lost the local elections but he is still holding, for now
Coups, even if they are unsuccessful, tend to fatally weaken leaders in most parts of the world. The events of the evening of July 15, 2016, where a faction of the Turkish armed forces led an attempted coup against Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of Turkey, did not have such an impact. It strengthened Turkey’s leader as he used the coup as an excuse to act against his political rivals, particularly the followers of Fetullah Gulen, the leader of an Islamic sect whom Erdogan despises. Gulen’s continued presence in the United States is a major reason Erdogan, a leader of a NATO nation, has been gradually pivoting towards the Russians, all the while pursuing an aggressive policy against both American and Russian interests in Syria. He has leveraged his immense political strength at home to project himself as a new Ottoman Emperor, the leader of the Islamic world in a matter of speaking, particularly in his battles with Mohammed bin-Salman, the young crown Prince of Saud
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