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Charting Turkey's slide towards authoritarianism

Turkey's shift towards authoritarianism has been over 10 years in the making. However, in the aftermath of the failed 2016 military coup, President Erdogan and the AKP have accelerated their consolidation of power.

  • Abdullah Gül (A.Kisbenede/AFP/GettyImages)

    July 2007: Abdullah Gul becomes Turkey's first Islamist president

    After years of free market reforms, Turkey's transition slowly begins to reverse. Islamist Abdullah Gul's candidacy as president in 2007 marks a clear shift away from secularist policies, and strains relations between the ruling AKP and the military. However, with broad support from both conservative Muslims and liberals, the AKP wins the parliamentary elections and Gul is elected president.

  • Turkey's Constitutional Court in Ankara (picture-alliance/dpa/A. Tumer)

    September 2010: Constitutional reforms take hold

    Then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan tables a constitutional reform increasing parliamentary control of the judiciary and army, effectively allowing the government to pick judges and senior military officials. The amendment, which is combined with measures also aimed at protecting child rights and the strengthening of the right to appeal, passed by a wide margin in a public referendum.

  • Gezi Park and Taksim Square protests (picture-alliance/abaca)

    May 2013: Dissent erupts in Gezi Park

    Pent-up anger directed by young people at Erdogan, Gul and the Islamist-rooted AKP hits a boiling point in May 2013. The violent police breakup of a small sit-in aimed at protecting Istanbul's Gezi Park spurs one of the fiercest anti-government protests in years. Eleven people are killed and more than 8,000 injured, before the demonstrations eventually peter out a month later.

  • Turkey's offensive against pro-Kurdish group in southeast Turkey (picture-alliance/abaca/M. Coban)

    July 2015: Turkey relaunches crackdown against Kurds

    A fragile ceasefire deal between the Turkish government and the Kurdish rebel PKK group breaks under the weight of tensions aggravated by the war in Syria. Military forces resume operations in the mostly Kurdish southeast of Turkey. In early 2016, the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) — a breakaway PKK faction — claim responsibility for two bombings in Ankara, each killing 38 people.

  • Turkish tank drives through Istanbul during military coup attempt (picture-alliance/dpa/T.Bozoglu)

    July 2016: Military coup attempt falls short

    A military coup attempt against the government shakes Turkey to its core and briefly turns the country into a war zone. Some 260 civilians die in overnight clashes with the army across five major cities. Erdogan, however, rallies supporters and the following morning rebel soldiers are ambushed by thousands of civilians on the Bosporus Bridge. The troops eventually drop their guns and surrender.

  • Turkish police detain protesters during trial against two suspected coup plotters (Reuters/U. Bektas)

    July 2016: President Erdogan enacts a state of emergency

    In the aftermath of the failed coup, Erdogan announces a state of emergency, leading to arrests of tens of thousands of suspected coup sympathizers and political opponents. Among those detained are military and judiciary officials and elected representatives from the pro-Kurdish HDP party. The purge is later expanded to include civil servants, university officials and teachers.

  • Amnesty International against Turkey's jailing of journalists (Getty Images/S.Gallup)

    2016: Crackdown on the press

    As part of Erdogan's crackdown against supposed "terrorist sympathizers," Turkey becomes one of the world's leading jailers of journalists, according to Reporters Without Borders. The government shuts down around 110 media outlets in the year following the coup and imprisons more than 100 journalists, including German-Turkish correspondent Deniz Yücel.

  • Pro-Turkish protests in the Netherlands (picture-alliance/abaca/AA/S.Z. Fazlioglu)

    March 2017: AKP officials try to stoke support in Western Europe

    With a referendum on expanding Erdogan's presidential powers set for April 2016, AKP officials look to galvanize support among Turks living in Europe, particularly in Germany and the Netherlands. However, the Netherlands forbids Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu from landing in the country, while Germany opts to cancel two rallies. Erdogan accuses both countries of Nazi-style repression.

  • Erdogan at AKP party conference in Ankara (Reuters/M. Sezer)

    April 2017: Erdogan clinches referendum vote

    Erdogan narrowly wins the referendum vote expanding his power. As a result, Turkey's parliamentary system is abolished in favor of a strong executive presidency. Erdogan is also allowed to remain in power potentially until 2029. However, international election monitors claim that opposition voices were muzzled and that media coverage was dominated by figures from the "yes" campaign.

  • A man carries a picture of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in front of a Turkish flag (picture-alliance/dpa/O.Weiken)

    June 2018: Election wins secure Erdogan's power

    Erdogan secures a new five-year term and sweeping new executive powers after winning landmark elections on June 24. His AKP and their nationalist allies also win a majority in parliament. International observers criticize the vote, saying media coverage and emergency measures gave Erdogan and the AKP an "undue advantage" in the vote.


  • Abdullah Gül (A.Kisbenede/AFP/GettyImages)

    July 2007: Abdullah Gul becomes Turkey's first Islamist president

    After years of free market reforms, Turkey's transition slowly begins to reverse. Islamist Abdullah Gul's candidacy as president in 2007 marks a clear shift away from secularist policies, and strains relations between the ruling AKP and the military. However, with broad support from both conservative Muslims and liberals, the AKP wins the parliamentary elections and Gul is elected president.

  • Turkey's Constitutional Court in Ankara (picture-alliance/dpa/A. Tumer)

    September 2010: Constitutional reforms take hold

    Then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan tables a constitutional reform increasing parliamentary control of the judiciary and army, effectively allowing the government to pick judges and senior military officials. The amendment, which is combined with measures also aimed at protecting child rights and the strengthening of the right to appeal, passed by a wide margin in a public referendum.

  • Gezi Park and Taksim Square protests (picture-alliance/abaca)

    May 2013: Dissent erupts in Gezi Park

    Pent-up anger directed by young people at Erdogan, Gul and the Islamist-rooted AKP hits a boiling point in May 2013. The violent police breakup of a small sit-in aimed at protecting Istanbul's Gezi Park spurs one of the fiercest anti-government protests in years. Eleven people are killed and more than 8,000 injured, before the demonstrations eventually peter out a month later.

  • Turkey's offensive against pro-Kurdish group in southeast Turkey (picture-alliance/abaca/M. Coban)

    July 2015: Turkey relaunches crackdown against Kurds

    A fragile ceasefire deal between the Turkish government and the Kurdish rebel PKK group breaks under the weight of tensions aggravated by the war in Syria. Military forces resume operations in the mostly Kurdish southeast of Turkey. In early 2016, the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) — a breakaway PKK faction — claim responsibility for two bombings in Ankara, each killing 38 people.

  • Turkish tank drives through Istanbul during military coup attempt (picture-alliance/dpa/T.Bozoglu)

    July 2016: Military coup attempt falls short

    A military coup attempt against the government shakes Turkey to its core and briefly turns the country into a war zone. Some 260 civilians die in overnight clashes with the army across five major cities. Erdogan, however, rallies supporters and the following morning rebel soldiers are ambushed by thousands of civilians on the Bosporus Bridge. The troops eventually drop their guns and surrender.

  • Turkish police detain protesters during trial against two suspected coup plotters (Reuters/U. Bektas)

    July 2016: President Erdogan enacts a state of emergency

    In the aftermath of the failed coup, Erdogan announces a state of emergency, leading to arrests of tens of thousands of suspected coup sympathizers and political opponents. Among those detained are military and judiciary officials and elected representatives from the pro-Kurdish HDP party. The purge is later expanded to include civil servants, university officials and teachers.

  • Amnesty International against Turkey's jailing of journalists (Getty Images/S.Gallup)

    2016: Crackdown on the press

    As part of Erdogan's crackdown against supposed "terrorist sympathizers," Turkey becomes one of the world's leading jailers of journalists, according to Reporters Without Borders. The government shuts down around 110 media outlets in the year following the coup and imprisons more than 100 journalists, including German-Turkish correspondent Deniz Yücel.

  • Pro-Turkish protests in the Netherlands (picture-alliance/abaca/AA/S.Z. Fazlioglu)

    March 2017: AKP officials try to stoke support in Western Europe

    With a referendum on expanding Erdogan's presidential powers set for April 2016, AKP officials look to galvanize support among Turks living in Europe, particularly in Germany and the Netherlands. However, the Netherlands forbids Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu from landing in the country, while Germany opts to cancel two rallies. Erdogan accuses both countries of Nazi-style repression.

  • Erdogan at AKP party conference in Ankara (Reuters/M. Sezer)

    April 2017: Erdogan clinches referendum vote

    Erdogan narrowly wins the referendum vote expanding his power. As a result, Turkey's parliamentary system is abolished in favor of a strong executive presidency. Erdogan is also allowed to remain in power potentially until 2029. However, international election monitors claim that opposition voices were muzzled and that media coverage was dominated by figures from the "yes" campaign.

  • A man carries a picture of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in front of a Turkish flag (picture-alliance/dpa/O.Weiken)

    June 2018: Election wins secure Erdogan's power

    Erdogan secures a new five-year term and sweeping new executive powers after winning landmark elections on June 24. His AKP and their nationalist allies also win a majority in parliament. International observers criticize the vote, saying media coverage and emergency measures gave Erdogan and the AKP an "undue advantage" in the vote.


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