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Politics and Government

The Strong Man at His Weakest

Strong-man-weakest

By experts and staff

Published
  • Steven A. CookCFR Expert
    Eni Enrico Mattei Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies

This article was originally published here on ForeignPolicy.com on Wednesday, June 19, 2013.

Anyone with even a passing interest in Turkey knows something about the Erdogan mystique. He’s the tough guy from the Kasimpasa neighborhood -- literally and figuratively down a steep slope from Taksim Square -- who has remade Turkey over the last decade. For the media personalities parachuted into a maelstrom of tear gas, water cannons, and pepper spray, Turkey under Erdogan is best described as an economic and political success story, a “model” of a “Muslim democracy and prosperity” for the Arab world.

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