Insider

Your all-access pass to FP

Adam Tooze: Why in Turkey It’s Not the Economy, Stupid

Erdogan’s monetary policy is a disaster, but Turks keep voting for him.

By , a deputy editor at Foreign Policy.
People look from their windows as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at his final election campaign rally in Beyoglu, the district of his childhood, in Istanbul.
People look from their windows as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at his final election campaign rally in Beyoglu, the district of his childhood, in Istanbul.
People look from their windows as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at his final election campaign rally in Beyoglu, the district of his childhood, in Istanbul, on May 13. Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

With high inflation and dwindling foreign reserves, Turkey doesn’t offer the most auspicious economic circumstances to an incumbent running for reelection. And yet Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, came ahead of his main rival in last weekend’s presidential vote. He’s expected to win the second round scheduled for the end of this month. The shaky state of the Turkish economy is the product of the unorthodox economic policies Erdogan has put into practice over the past 20 years. But those policies may also be the key to his continued electoral success.

Cameron Abadi is a deputy editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @CameronAbadi

Join the Conversation

Commenting on this and other recent articles is just one benefit of a Foreign Policy subscription.

Already a subscriber? .

Join the Conversation

Join the conversation on this and other recent Foreign Policy articles when you subscribe now.

Not your account?

Join the Conversation

Please follow our comment guidelines, stay on topic, and be civil, courteous, and respectful of others’ beliefs.

You are commenting as .

More from Foreign Policy

Keri Russell as Kate Wyler walks by a State Department Seal from a scene in The Diplomat, a new Netflix show about the foreign service.
Keri Russell as Kate Wyler walks by a State Department Seal from a scene in The Diplomat, a new Netflix show about the foreign service.

At Long Last, the Foreign Service Gets the Netflix Treatment

Keri Russell gets Drexel furniture but no Senate confirmation hearing.

Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron speak in the garden of the governor of Guangdong's residence in Guangzhou, China, on April 7.
Chinese President Xi Jinping and French President Emmanuel Macron speak in the garden of the governor of Guangdong's residence in Guangzhou, China, on April 7.

How Macron Is Blocking EU Strategy on Russia and China

As a strategic consensus emerges in Europe, France is in the way.

Chinese President Jiang Zemin greets U.S. President George W. Bush prior to a meeting of APEC leaders in 2001.
Chinese President Jiang Zemin greets U.S. President George W. Bush prior to a meeting of APEC leaders in 2001.

What the Bush-Obama China Memos Reveal

Newly declassified documents contain important lessons for U.S. China policy.

A girl stands atop a destroyed Russian tank.
A girl stands atop a destroyed Russian tank.

Russia’s Boom Business Goes Bust

Moscow’s arms exports have fallen to levels not seen since the Soviet Union’s collapse.