Turkey’s New Protest Movement

Sparked by the arrest of Erdogan’s main rival, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, large scale protests in Turkey continue. The demonstrations are the largest in over a decade, drawing hundreds of thousands including university students and groups from across the political spectrum. The country’s lingering economic crisis and Erdogan’s increasingly authoritarian crackdown have added fuel to the fire. Despite facing security barricades, road closures, riot police and water cannon vehicles, the protests continue to spread to new cities. What are the grievances of the protestors, and what do their actions mean for the future of Erdogan and his long-ruling party?

Join MERIP and the Institute of Middle East Studies for a discussion of the newly unfolding protest movement in Turkey and the intensified repression of its political opposition. The conversation will feature analysts Selim Koru (Economic Policy Research Foundation of Turkey), Fulya Pınar (Middlebury College) and Gönül Tol (Middle East Institute), moderated by James Ryan (MERIP).

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