Corruption Scandal and Political Crisis in Turkey: What's Next?

This is an Archive of a Past Event

A wide-ranging corruption inquiry was launched in Turkey on December 17, 2013, the largest in the history of the republic. The inquiry quickly led to a political crisis thanks to a series of questionable moves by the government. Since then, thousands of police ocers and bureaucrats have been reassigned. Critics of the government argue that the government is simply trying to deect very serious corruption charges by defaming prosecutors and undermining independent judiciary. The speaker will examine domestic and international implications of the crisis and the potential impact on the upcoming elections in Turkey.

Fevzi Bilgin’s areas of expertise are constitutional politics, religion and politics, and political liberalism, Turkish politics, Middle Eastern politics, and US-Turkey relations. He received BA from Ankara University and PhD in political science from University of Pittsburgh. His publications include recent books, Understanding Turkey’s Kurdish Question (with A. Sarihan), Political Liberalism in Muslim Societies.