Erdoğan’s election victory

Abstract

The May 2023 victory by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in his campaign for re-election has ensured governing continuity, but not necessarily stability. Turkiye’s economy is on the precipice of full-blown crisis, with living standards having fallen due to a surge of inflation that began in late 2021. Ankara faces important questions about the status of the estimated 3.5 million Syrian refugees in the country, and also about Ankara’s broad foreign-policy orientation, with Erdoğan arguing that his confrontational attitude towards the West is proof that Turkiye had been transformed into an independent power.