New York Times: Erdoğan’s Victory in Turkey

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan won reelection in Turkey, convincing a slim majority that a strong centralized government and increased controls contribute to security. Critics express concern about increasing authoritarianism for Turkey. The president will oversee a polarized country with fewer checks on his power and “a pliant Parliament, with his conservative party and its allies having won about 53 percent of the vote in legislative elections on Sunday,” reports Carlotta Gall for the New York Times. “The victory has potentially grave consequences for cooperation within NATO, security in Iraq and Syria, and control of immigration flows into Europe.” Polarization and unrest are potential challenges as long as the economy struggles with corruption, high levels of foreign debt and a currency in decline. Turkey’s economic growth has hovered around 2 percent for the past year. Erdoğan, while improving relations with Russia, struggles with the West, and that has reduced foreign investment. – YaleGlobal