Crisis in Turkey: A Conversation with Kristin Fabbe (S. 5, Ep. 1)

"The crisis in Turkey has been a long time coming," Kristin Fabbe says about the current political situation in Turkey. Fabbe, an assistant professor at Harvard Business School, speaks with Marc Lynch on this week's POMEPS podcast about the "very scary" climate in Turkey. "There was this key moment between the first election in 2015 and the second, and what happened in between those two elections was very scary for Turkish politics. You see this bombings in Ankara and then members of the AKP get up and say, 'This happened because there was no government. This did not happen on our watch.' They use the fact they lost control of the parliament... to basically say, 'You're better off under our thumb.'" Their conversation looks at how President Erdogan is leading his party in the midst of terrorism and the refugee crisis, their economic situation, and Turkey's relationship with the European Union. "Turkish democracy does better when Turkey is engaged with Europe. When Turkey is disengaged, Turkish democracy does worse. I think there's really something to that argument," Fabbe said. "The question is... is this the kind of engagement you want Turkey to have with Europe over the refugee and migration issue?"