Turkey Amidst Economic Turbulence and Elections

ABSTRACT

In the end of 2021, Turkey is facing formidable economic and political challenges linked to the inability of the Turkish leadership to find solutions for the country’s longstanding problems. This governance crisis is linked to the constitutional amendment of 2017. While the popularity of the Turkish president is reaching historic lows, the state of the economy is taking a heavy toll on the popularity of the government coalition. The opposition coalition appears more experienced than in the past and able to shape the political agenda of the country. The four leading presidential candidates of the opposition reflect different groups and approaches to Turkey’s key questions. Their appeal to Turkey’s Kurdish population has emerged as a key element for their election prospects, as well as their ability to maintain the cohesion of the opposition coalition. While the rise of the AKP to political hegemony in the early 2000s was linked to an economic turmoil, the current economic crisis is likely to reshuffle the Turkish political map.