“Words are heavy in Turkey, and every writer, every poet and every journalist knows that, because of a word, because of a sentence, because of a tweet or even a retweet, you can be sued, you can be demonized by the media and you can even land in prison.” KnowsLandMediaPoetPrisonHeavySentencesJournalistTurkeysTweetRetweet Author:Elif Safak
“Many analysts compare Turkey with countries in the Middle East, but I think we need to compare it with Russia. Both countries come from a tradition of empire, and also from a tradition of the strong state.” ThinkingNeedsCountryStatesStrongMiddleTraditionEastRussiaCompareEmpiresMiddle EastTurkeysAnalysts Author:Elif Safak
“In a normal democracy, you protect the individual from the excessive power of the state. In Turkey, power elites try to protect the state - as if this state were fragile and needed protection - when in fact, it's too powerful already.” IfsTryingStatesFactsIndividualPowerfulDemocracyNeededProtectNormalProtectionFragileElitesTurkeys Author:Elif Safak
“Obviously, Turkey is not a typical authoritarian regime, and obviously it's very important that there are free elections. But it's also obvious that this is not a liberal, mature democracy. This is why I call Turkey a wobbly democracy. At any time, it can tip over and fall down.” ImportantFallDemocracyElectionObviousMatureRegimesTypicalTurkeysFalling DownFree Elections Author:Elif Safak
“Turkey in general became too involved with what is happening in Egypt and in Syria. Some politicians with neo-Ottoman dreams developed this idea of being a major player in the Middle East, which hasn't gone as expected.” IdeasDreamGonePlayerMiddleInvolvedPoliticianMajorsHappeningsEastExpectedMiddle EastSyriaEgyptTurkeysOttomans Author:Elif Safak
“Turkey has a very young, dynamic, curious population. In Europe, Facebook and Twitter are mostly about sharing daily experiences while for Turkish people, social networks are political platforms.” PeopleYoungPoliticalSocialEuropePopulationCuriousPlatformsTurkeysSocial NetworkTurkishDaily Experience Author:Elif Safak
