Prof Üstün Ergüder: “Otoriter ötesi, artık tüm hücrelere nüfuz eden totaliter bir sistem söz konusu”

Erdoğan, AKP/MHP, and the “New System.” I continue to discuss the last 24 years under the AKP, the extraordinarily turbulent developments during this period, the regime change in the country, and the mistakes that led to today's crisis in Turkey. This time, my guest is Professor Ergüder, one of Turkey's leading political scientists. He was the rector of Boğaziçi University from 1992 to 2000. After this period, he continued his work at Sabancı University, founded the Istanbul Policy Center, and focused on developing civil society and educational reform efforts. Professor Ergüder is one of those who have followed the quarter-century story of Turkey from the front lines. And, as you will see in our conversation, he oscillates between deep concern and optimism. He disagrees with those who see the current regime as illiberal or authoritarian, using the clearest term: According to him, we are now facing a totalitarian system. He sees a very harsh period as likely, even saying, "this could end up in the police station." He finds the "captivity" of the judiciary and the curtailment of civil society very serious, and sees the actions against Boğaziçi University as symbolic in light of what is happening. But he also has high confidence in the younger generation. He says that this dynamic will eventually prevail in politics as well.