Yes. The thought that Turkey will be a threat to its neighbors' and its citizens' security for a long time to come is inconvenient. Therefore it can't be true. It would be convenient to invest in Turkey. Therefore Turkey is safe for investors. The moral of this story is that the power of self-deception in politics, and in geopolitics, is extraordinary. This is a case study in the nature of wishful thinking.
Very shrewd and well done. May I offer a small edit? Instead of "But a 2018 presidential decree GAVE Erdoğan the power to appoint them directly …” would it not be more accurateto say "But IN a 2018 presidential decree Erdoğan TOOK the power to appoint them directly …?”.
How long before Erdoğan changes his title to “Caliph?"
Claire, I read the beginning of the story, then clicked over to the Twitter video, and was thinking, "Yeah but does Erdogan really care about or respect peaceful protest?" Then I came back and read that the police locked the gates and beat the protestors. So you answered my question.
I'm not big on violence myself, but at some point don't you have to punch to bully in the nose? Where does the line get drawn? I don't know...
“Eager believers looked at the coffee grounds and saw—mirabile dictu!—Turkish democratic reforms. Why?“
We see what’s convenient.
Yes. The thought that Turkey will be a threat to its neighbors' and its citizens' security for a long time to come is inconvenient. Therefore it can't be true. It would be convenient to invest in Turkey. Therefore Turkey is safe for investors. The moral of this story is that the power of self-deception in politics, and in geopolitics, is extraordinary. This is a case study in the nature of wishful thinking.
Very shrewd and well done. May I offer a small edit? Instead of "But a 2018 presidential decree GAVE Erdoğan the power to appoint them directly …” would it not be more accurateto say "But IN a 2018 presidential decree Erdoğan TOOK the power to appoint them directly …?”.
How long before Erdoğan changes his title to “Caliph?"
Claire, I read the beginning of the story, then clicked over to the Twitter video, and was thinking, "Yeah but does Erdogan really care about or respect peaceful protest?" Then I came back and read that the police locked the gates and beat the protestors. So you answered my question.
I'm not big on violence myself, but at some point don't you have to punch to bully in the nose? Where does the line get drawn? I don't know...
If you knew the answer to that one, you'd deserve the Peace Prize.