It has now become clear that the highly partisan and polarising policies of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government have seriously weakened Turkey\u2019s key institutions, making the country vulnerable to the kind of failed power grab we have witnessed on 15 July.<\/p>\n
The heavy-handed retribution that followed the botched coup attempt has further reduced the bureaucratic, administrative and legal capabilities of the state.<\/p>\n
Exaggerated reactions to international criticism and populist statements flaming anti-western sentiment in the country are good indications of less than adequate diplomatic skills and capacity.<\/p>\n
On the surface, Mr. Erdogan may be seen to have consolidated his powers. The scale of the purge has surpassed all previous post-coup crack-downs.<\/p>\n
In reality, both the Erdogan regime, and the country as a whole, have entered a highly unstable and insecure period. The ongoing purge of the military, police and intelligence services has dangerously exposed Turkey to multiple security threats.<\/p>\n
Hasty and ill-thought out measures taken in the wake of the attempted coup have more than a hint of panic, rather than a confident march to a one man-rule, even if that had been the ultimate aim.<\/p>\n
As if there are not enough internal dangers facing the country, the government and most of media seem intent on creating new enemies outside.<\/p>\n
Never ones to admit error, they are busy passing the buck to others.<\/p>\n
In contrast, internationally, or at least at a diplomatic level, there is now a clearer understanding for the exigencies of the situation.<\/p>\n
No serious organization or country is still claiming that Turkey\u2019s failed coup attempt was a staged operation for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to eliminate his opponents. As seen in the statements by the European Union, the Council of Europe and the Secretary General of the United Nations, there is an unmistakable condemnation of those who actively plotted to overthrow an elected government. The British ambassador<\/a> in Ankara even took the additional step of suggesting that the Gulenists may be behind the coup attempt. Under the circumstances, Turkey\u2019s right to declare a state of emergency is not questioned, either.<\/p>\n However, almost all express serious misgivings and alarm at the extent of emergency measures, and question their proportionality and arbitrariness.<\/p>\n The extremely wide scope of suspensions in all state institutions cannot easily be justified, even in times of emergency. The collective nature of investigations goes against all accepted legal norms and the rule of law. The implications of the failure to follow due process are not limited to individuals who are irrevocably damaged; Turkey\u2019s already deficient institutional capacity is further weakened.<\/p>\n The arrests and detentions of dozens of journalists, among them internationally renowned reporters and commentators, and the closure of more than one hundred media organisations defy all logic. This amounts to arbitrary restriction of freedom of expression, crucial in a democracy.<\/p>\n Even if it is not recognized by Turkey\u2019s governing politicians and diplomats, there is considerable sympathy and concern for Turkey.<\/p>\n Instead of building on this international solidarity and goodwill, Turkey is putting all its remaining democratic credentials in jeopardy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" It has now become clear that the highly partisan and polarising policies of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government have seriously weakened Turkey\u2019s key institutions, making the country vulnerable to the kind of failed power grab we have witnessed on 15 July. The heavy-handed retribution that followed the botched coup attempt has further reduced […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[4],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28696"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28696"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28696\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28699,"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28696\/revisions\/28699"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28696"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28696"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.firdevstalkturkey.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28696"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}