A July 27 cartoon by popular Turkish cartoonist Musa Kart speaks volumes. Ruminating after the failed coup attempt, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is depicted wondering, “Somewhere I didn’t make a mistake, but where?” Indeed, the list of the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) wrongs is so long that the rights are hardly discerned.
After 14 years of AKP rule, Turkey is in turmoil. The events that led to this state of affairs boil down to one simple reason: the AKP’s skewed understanding of democracy and popular will.