Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need to Know About Global Politics

by Tim Marshall

Until a few years ago Turkey was held up as an example of how a Middle Eastern country, other than Israel, could embrace democracy. That example has taken some huge blows recently with the ongoing Kurdish problem, the difficulties facing some of the tiny Christian communities and the tacit support for Islamist groups in their fight against the Syrian government. The failed coup of 2016 opened the way for the Erdog˘an government to crack down on all opposition. More than 50,000 people were subsequently arrested and about 150,000 fired from their jobs. In 2018, Erdog˘an won an election that granted him increased executive powers, in an attempt to cement his position as one of the leading ‘strong men’ in the world. He has sought to use this to create an increasingly nationalist Turkey, one which is looking to extend its influence in the Balkans, the Middle East and Central Asia. However, April 2019 brought a setback. His AKP party failed to win local elections despite controlling much of Turkey’s media. Erdog˘an, shocked at the prospect of losing control of Istanbul, demanded a recount of ballot papers, suggesting that ‘organised crime’ was involved in the election. The results were the same so he then said the whole vote should be rerun. A joke quickly spread around the city about four things people can’t choose in life: place of birth, race, ethnicity and the mayor of Istanbul. The dark humour disguised both the unease and rage many people felt about the president’s increas...