“Our politics is very masculine, very aggressive, and it's very polarizing. And the pace of this development has increased in recent years. Erdogan is, in my eyes, the most polarizing politician in recent Turkish political history.” YearsEyePoliticalDevelopmentPoliticianPaceAggressiveMasculineTurkishPolitical HistoryPolarizingErdogan Author:Elif Safak
“Almost half of the Turkish population believes it is not legitimate to criticize the government. Interestingly, this correlates with the number of supporters of Erdogan's government.” BelieveGovernmentNumbersHalfPopulationCriticizeSupporterTurkishErdogan Author:Elif Safak
“I would like the refugee crisis to become a new beginning in the Turkish-European relationship. But it would be very problematic if, during this process, human rights were forgotten. Democracy needs to be the priority.” IfsNeedsHumansWould BeProcessDemocracyRightsCrisisForgottenHuman RightsPrioritiesRefugeeNew BeginningsTurkishRefugee Crisis Author:Elif Safak
“I see two opposite tendencies in Turkish society: people feel demoralized, they lose the interest in politics and retreat to their private lives; or they become very angry and even more politicized, and radicalized. Both trends are troublesome.” PeopleFeelsTwoInterestLosesOppositesAngryTendenciesTrendsRetreatPrivate LifeTroublesomeTurkishDemoralizedTwo OppositesInterest In Politics 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
