Cold Turkey
Bloomberg Businessweek|August 20, 2018

The country’s once-warm relations with the West have chilled. Where does Erdogan go from here?

Matthew Philips
Cold Turkey

There’s a famous saying in politics: “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” It’s hard to think of a leader who’s put that to better use than Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In a way, his entire political career was born out of crisis. After a stint as mayor of Istanbul in the 1990s, Erdogan was briefly jailed and his Islamist political party was banned. He then helped form a new party that was swept into power after a devastating financial crash hit Turkey in 2001. He’s now a twice-elected president who’s steadily amassed power, in part by knowing how to leverage a bad situation. He did, after all, describe a failed coup against him in 2016 as a “gift from God,” because it allowed him to crush his political opponents and endow himself with even more authority to bring about his vision for a “new Turkey.”

Erdogan knows as well as anyone the political cost of an economy going up in smoke. So why is he goading Donald Trump into tariffs and sanctions when Turkey’s economy is in so much trouble?

That’s a question U.S. officials and global investors are asking after watching the Turkish president respond to U.S. pressure by ratcheting up the tension even more. To Trump officials, it seemed like a simple enough strategy: Turn up the heat until Erdogan releases Andrew Brunson, an American pastor imprisoned in Turkey for the past two years. They didn’t expect him to risk bankrupting his own country or consider leaving NATO in favor of a closer alliance with Russia, China, and Iran. But that’s the way things are headed, or at least that’s what Erdogan wants the world to believe.

This story is from the August 20, 2018 edition of Bloomberg Businessweek.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the August 20, 2018 edition of Bloomberg Businessweek.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEKView All
Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Instagram's Founders Say It's Time for a New Social App

The rise of AI and the fall of Twitter could create opportunities for upstarts

time-read
4 mins  |
March 13, 2023
Running in Circles
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Running in Circles

A subscription running shoe program aims to fight footwear waste

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort
Bloomberg Businessweek US

What I Learned Working at a Hawaiien Mega-Resort

Nine wild secrets from the staff at Turtle Bay, who have to manage everyone from haughty honeymooners to go-go-dancing golfers.

time-read
10 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto
Bloomberg Businessweek US

How Noma Will Blossom In Kyoto

The best restaurant in the world just began its second pop-up in Japan. Here's what's cooking

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
The Last-Mover Problem
Bloomberg Businessweek US

The Last-Mover Problem

A startup called Sennder is trying to bring an extremely tech-resistant industry into the age of apps

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Tick Tock, TikTok
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Tick Tock, TikTok

The US thinks the Chinese-owned social media app is a major national security risk. TikTok is running out of ways to avoid a ban

time-read
10+ mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Cleaner Clothing Dye, Made From Bacteria

A UK company produces colors with less water than conventional methods and no toxic chemicals

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Pumping Heat in Hamburg
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Pumping Heat in Hamburg

The German port city plans to store hot water underground and bring it up to heat homes in the winter

time-read
3 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge
Bloomberg Businessweek US

Sustainability: Calamari's Climate Edge

Squid's ability to flourish in warmer waters makes it fitting for a diet for the changing environment

time-read
4 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023
New Money, New Problems
Bloomberg Businessweek US

New Money, New Problems

In Naples, an influx of wealthy is displacing out-of-towners lower-income workers

time-read
4 mins  |
March 20 - 27, 2023