Erdoğan’s War: The Quest for Power at Home and in Syria, with Gönül Tol

Sign up for Intelligence Squared Premium here: https://iq2premium.supercast.com/ for ad-free listening, bonus content, early access and much more. See below for details. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is now Turkey’s longest-serving president. Since coming to power as Prime Minister in 2002 he has overseen a radical transformation of this pivotal country. Once a secular democracy with aspirations to join the European Union, Turkey has become a deeply nationalist, conservative country. Erdoğan has built a militaristic foreign policy abroad, intervening in regional flashpoints from Syria to Libya while dismantling democratic controls, clamping down on dissent and centralising power in the presidency at home. In September 2022, academic and writer Gönül Tol came to Intelligence Squared to shed light on how Erdoğan established an iron grip on the country, the subject of her upcoming book: Erdoğan's War: A Strongman's Struggle at Home and in Syria. Tol is founding Director of the Middle East Institute's Turkey program and is a Senior Fellow for the Frontier Europe Initiative. She's also Adjunct Professor at George Washington University. Host for this discussion is Carl Miller, Research Director at the Centre for the Analysis of Social Media at the think tank Demos. … We are incredibly grateful for your support. To become an Intelligence Squared Premium subscriber, follow the link: https://iq2premium.supercast.com/  Here’s a reminder of the benefits you’ll receive as a subscriber: Ad-free listening, because we know some of you would prefer to listen without interruption  One early episode per week Two bonus episodes per month A 25% discount on IQ2+, our exciting streaming service, where you can watch and take part in events live at home and enjoy watching past events on demand and without ads  A 15% discount and priority access to live, in-person events in London, so you won’t miss out on tickets Our premium monthly newsletter  Intelligence Squared Merch Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices