Editorial: Return of the rabble-rouser

The return of Erdogan means a further deepening of friction with the western world, given his close ties with Putin

Religious nationalism, deep polarisation, conservative social agenda, suppression of dissent and a decisive shift towards authoritarianism. These were the key elements of the agenda that helped Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan to return to power for a record fifth term. One is tempted to sense an uncanny resemblance to the prevailing political climate in India; a more or less similar ideological push is being given here by the ruling dispensation. Erdogan’s victory in the controversy-ridden runoff presidential election has strengthened his authoritarian hold on a country that is in the grip of economic crisis, shoddy governance and widespread corruption. The pugnacious leader, who has embraced a muscular brand of political Islam, won a runoff against his closest rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu after the first round failed to yield a winner with a clear majority. It is clear that more voters are on the side of his religious-nationalist, conservative agenda, and trust him to lead the country at a time of great changes in the world. The return of Erdogan for a fifth term in office would mean a further deepening of friction with the western world, given his close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and also internal polarisation. Despite being part of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation), Turkey, under his leadership, is an outlier. Amidst the Ukraine war, he has been brazenly engaging with Russia. Ankara’s stakes in the Syrian conflict and in Egypt make it an important player in the region. By nudging his country towards total autocracy, Erdogan runs the risk of exacerbating internal turmoil and also hurting the old western allies.

Turkey, a gateway linking Europe and Asia, is now more divided than ever before in its history. With Turkey being a formidable regional player, the West faces the challenge of persuading Erdogan to withdraw his objection to Sweden’s NATO membership bid. He has accused Stockholm of being soft on terror groups hostile to Ankara and not doing enough to stop Quran-burning protests. Sweden’s entry into NATO, which has to be unanimously approved by the member states, is critical to the West’s efforts to geopolitically isolate Russia; but this won’t happen as long as Erdogan remains firm. Erdogan has consolidated his hold on the country ever since he won a national referendum in 2017 on constitutional reforms, marking Turkey’s transformation from a parliamentary democracy to an unbridled autocracy. There has been a decisive slide towards authoritarianism and a virtual reboot of the Turkish Republic by abandoning the secular ethos of the country’s founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. For India, his views on Kashmir have been problematic. Turkey was among the notable absentees from the G20 Tourism Working Group meeting held recently in Kashmir. Earlier this year, India had hit out at Ankara for raking up the Kashmir issue at the UN Human Rights Council.

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