https://mena-studies.org/tags/erdogan/Recent content in Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on MENA Research CenterHugoen-GBSun, 28 Sep 2025 19:34:35 +0200https://mena-studies.org/islamism-versus-civil-society-in-turkey-and-brussels-pays-the-bill/Thu, 25 Sep 2025 11:25:00 +0200https://mena-studies.org/islamism-versus-civil-society-in-turkey-and-brussels-pays-the-bill/When Erdoğan came to power in 2002, he promised a “more advanced democracy.” Two decades later, that promise lies in ruins. Turkey’s political system has been stripped down to a crude majoritarian model, while every mechanism of democratic participation has…https://mena-studies.org/imperial-phantom-pains-erdogan-putin-and-their-fantasies/Sun, 14 Sep 2025 12:23:29 +0200https://mena-studies.org/imperial-phantom-pains-erdogan-putin-and-their-fantasies/On an autumn evening in 2023, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stood before his supporters and spoke of Gaza. For Turkey, he declared, this embattled strip of land was no different from Adana, a sprawling city in the country’s south. The remark stuck—not for its…https://mena-studies.org/a-new-wave-of-censorship-looms-in-turkey/Wed, 13 Aug 2025 08:38:00 +0200https://mena-studies.org/a-new-wave-of-censorship-looms-in-turkey/Turkey’s strongman Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is not among the twelve million citizens who regularly use Spotify. At least, he has never given the impression that he spends mornings browsing playlists. Yet even for him, the platform offers something: his supporters…https://mena-studies.org/the-symbol-of-repression-in-turkey/Mon, 04 Aug 2025 10:02:00 +0200https://mena-studies.org/the-symbol-of-repression-in-turkey/“In Silivri it’s cold” is a catchphrase in Turkey – a piece of dark humor of the kind that flourishes in autocracies. It usually comes up when someone makes a joke about the president or the government. “Brother, remember the cold in Silivri,” someone might…https://mena-studies.org/turkey-the-imamoglu-case-resistance-under-pressure/Tue, 08 Jul 2025 12:04:00 +0200https://mena-studies.org/turkey-the-imamoglu-case-resistance-under-pressure/Ekrem İmamoğlu, elected mayor of Istanbul, presidential hopeful, and the most prominent challenger to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is now arguably the most well-known political prisoner in Turkey. The state is pursuing multiple legal cases against him. The latest…https://mena-studies.org/turkey-moves-to-censor-theology-diyanet-granted-power-over-quranic-interpretations/Wed, 02 Jul 2025 14:02:00 +0200https://mena-studies.org/turkey-moves-to-censor-theology-diyanet-granted-power-over-quranic-interpretations/Turkey’s state-run religious authority, the Diyanet, will now have the final say over which interpretations of the Quran are permitted in the country—and which are not. A new law published in the official gazette grants the institution sweeping censorship…https://mena-studies.org/show-trials-in-turkey-the-repression-of-the-chp-takes-an-authoritarian-turn/Tue, 17 Jun 2025 14:11:00 +0200https://mena-studies.org/show-trials-in-turkey-the-repression-of-the-chp-takes-an-authoritarian-turn/They are images more familiar from mafia trials or authoritarian regimes: dozens of men in handcuffs, marching in single file, held by police officers on both arms—paraded through the gates of a courthouse before rolling cameras. But these are not suspected…https://mena-studies.org/turkey-the-future-of-the-akp-will-be-decided-in-anatolia/Wed, 21 May 2025 13:18:00 +0200https://mena-studies.org/turkey-the-future-of-the-akp-will-be-decided-in-anatolia/Konya – for many in Turkey, the name of this central Anatolian city stands for more than just a geographic location. It is a symbol of conservative values, religious piety, and unwavering loyalty to the ruling AKP. Konya evokes images of Mevlana Jalaluddin…https://mena-studies.org/new-charges-against-imamoglu/Tue, 06 May 2025 13:19:00 +0200https://mena-studies.org/new-charges-against-imamoglu/The latest trial against prominent opposition politician and Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu lasted less than an hour before the judge postponed further proceedings to June 16. “I’m here because I won the Istanbul elections three times,” İmamoğlu reportedly…https://mena-studies.org/local-and-online-prevention-researchers-call-for-new-strategies-against-islamism-in-germany/Sat, 03 May 2025 12:37:00 +0200https://mena-studies.org/local-and-online-prevention-researchers-call-for-new-strategies-against-islamism-in-germany/With unusually blunt words, German Education Minister Cem Özdemir (Greens) has warned against a complacent approach to Islamist extremism. Presenting the findings of a government-funded research network on Islamism, Özdemir criticized what he called the…https://mena-studies.org/whats-next-for-turkey/Mon, 28 Apr 2025 15:31:00 +0200https://mena-studies.org/whats-next-for-turkey/“Erdoğan is our father, Turkey is our home.” This phrase has been scrawled on utility boxes, bridge pillars, and building walls in towns and cities across Turkey for years. More than mere flattery, it reflects a deeply rooted, cross-generational understanding…https://mena-studies.org/western-reactions-to-turkish-repression/Thu, 17 Apr 2025 11:58:00 +0200https://mena-studies.org/western-reactions-to-turkish-repression/The dramatic arrest of Istanbul’s mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu during a pre-dawn raid marks a new low in Turkey’s ongoing departure from democratic principles. Observers and critics of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan see the move as a deliberate attempt to sideline…https://mena-studies.org/has-erdogan-miscalculated/Sun, 06 Apr 2025 12:40:00 +0200https://mena-studies.org/has-erdogan-miscalculated/Even in a country that has never been a fully-fledged democracy, this day marks a turning point. For years, President Erdoğan has repeatedly had political opponents arrested and convicted—most often Kurdish politicians like the popular Selahattin Demirtaş.…https://mena-studies.org/erdogans-foreign-policy-options/Fri, 28 Mar 2025 13:56:00 +0100https://mena-studies.org/erdogans-foreign-policy-options/A few days ago, the Turkish daily newspaper Sabah , which traditionally maintains close ties to President Erdoğan, published an article that could be interpreted as a certain offer to Europe. The background of this article was the participation of Turkish…https://mena-studies.org/on-turkeys-decision-to-arrest-ekrem-imamoglu/Sat, 22 Mar 2025 13:45:00 +0100https://mena-studies.org/on-turkeys-decision-to-arrest-ekrem-imamoglu/Reuters confirmed that a Turkish court has decided to imprison the mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, while the Turkish Ministry of Interior announced the arrest of 343 people during protests denouncing the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Akram Imamoglu. Last…