Turkish President Erdoğan’s Electoral Challenge

Following a devastating earthquake in 1999 that claimed the lives of over 17,000 people in and around Istanbul, the Turkish government’s sluggish response created an opportunity for Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the city’s mayor, to capitalize on the disaster by demonstrating his competency as a leader and pave his path to the premiership in 2003. Since then (and especially after seizing the presidency in 2014), Erdoğan has ruled Turkey with an iron fist.

But seismic forces are still influencing his political story.

About the Author

Bobby Miller

Bobby Miller is an ISI Fellow at National Review and a graduate student at Georgetown University.

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Following a devastating earthquake in 1999 that claimed the lives of over 17,000 people in and around Istanbul, the Turkish government’s sluggish response created an opportunity for Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the city’s mayor, to capitalize on the disaster by demonstrating his competency as a leader and pave his path to the premiership in 2003. Since then (and especially after seizing the presidency in 2014), Erdoğan has ruled Turkey with an iron fist.

But seismic forces are still influencing his political story.