President Tayyip Erdogan and his party suffered their biggest electoral blow in a nationwide local vote that reasserted the opposition as a political force.
US sanctions announced earlier this month may have triggered the plunge in the lira, but the government has been mismanaging Turkey’s economy for years, creating severe vulnerabilities.
This referendum is the first time in the democratic history of Turkey that an election has been seen as illegitimate by not only domestic contenders, but by international observers as well.
Experts agree that Turkey is even further polarised after contested unofficial results show President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has won the right to expand his powers.
It may sound farfetched that a scholar living in Pennsylvania planned the overthrow of the Turkish government. But Turkey is demanding the U.S. extradite the Hizmet leader.
A professor at Ohio State surveyed Turkish citizens about their views on democracy. What he learned helps explain the current crisis in the EU wannabe.