Six Months Away Yet So Near: The Forthcoming Elections in Turkey

German Marshall Fund of the United States, January 21, 2015

Ilter Turan *

Turkey’s upcoming elections promise to be critical on several counts, among which three stand out. First is the Kurdish problem. Second are the corruption charges leveled against the government. Third is what elections mean when the president, elected for the first time by popular vote, is trying to transform that position into a policymaker rather than a figurehead. These three issues may be critically important in determining the election outcome.

* İlter Turan is a professor of political science at Istanbul’s Bilgi University, where he also served as president between 1998-2001.

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