Doug Bandow
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan secured near dictatorial
powers in the recent constitutional referendum. Yet all is not well
for the would-be sultan. He predicted that he’d win 60 percent or
more of the vote, but barely broke 51 percent after rigging the
ballot, destroying a free press, and criminalizing criticism. The
opposition is divided and broken, but Erdogan increasingly is
feared rather than loved. His reign may be shorter than
expected.
The Republic of Turkey was created amid the wreckage of the
Ottoman Empire by Mustafa Kemal, a military officer later anointed
with the name Ataturk, or father of the Turks. The state eventually
evolved into an authoritarian democracy, …read more
Source: Cato Institute