In this interview, political scientist Cengiz Aktar unpacks how Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s arrest of Istanbul’s mayor as part of a long-term strategy to retain power challenges the myth of Turkish democracy. In his discussion of Turkey’s shifting role in the region, Aktar argues that Ankara is increasingly reliant on Azerbaijan due to economic necessity. In addition, he expresses skepticism about the durability of an Armenia-Azerbaijan normalization deal given Baku’s maximalist demands and authoritarian governance.
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