Quote:
Originally Posted by FlamesAddiction
So, is Turkey just a straight up dictatorship now? There are a couple of other European countries whose presidents said they are personally apprehensive about it, but their respective parliaments are still expected to have the votes to pass it. You know, because following a democratic process is part of what NATO expects.
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Turkey was effectively run by a military junta for most of its first 50 years in the alliance, with governments that ran afoul of the army routinely overthrown in coups (with the compliance of the U.S.). Erdogan is an illiberal authoritarian. But he broke the generals’ grip on power and actually has more public support than any of his predecessors.
So NATO has always turned a blind eye to the whole democracy thing when it comes to Turkey because of its vital strategic location and powerful army. For the same reason, there’s zero chance they get kicked out of NATO any time soon.