Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) enjoyed strong public support during the first decade of its 20-year rule, but since the December 2013 corruption investigations, in which the close circle of then-prime minister Erdoğan was implicated, the party has been involved in the establishment of an oppressive regime to cover up the crimes committed by party members and to stay in power. Erdogan moved away from Europe’s democratic norms to avoid accountability and in the process built a strong economic and political relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Following a controversial coup attempt in Turkey on July 15, 2016, he continued destroying Turkey’s democratic institutions and built an illiberal authoritarian regime. Whether or not Putin will be successful in occupying Ukraine, Western powers have already isolated the Putin regime through harsh economic sanctions, and Erdogan may not be able to continue his draconian regime in Turkey without the support of Putin.
