The Rule of Law is the Casualty

Recent raids, the taking into custody of important personalities, and the subsequent arrests sent shock waves through Turkish society. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has made it no secret that he views the entire situation as a conspiracy against him and his government. The depiction of the challenge he faces as a conspiracy has allowed Erdoğan to “securitize” the problem. Rather than focusing on corruption, he has tried to move the discussion to the domain of security, arguing that Turkey is under the threat of a combination of domestic and outside powers that aim to remove the government that represents the popular will and to subvert its policies directed at benefiting the Turkish people. It is difficult to predict how this struggle will play out. The only casualty so far has been the rule of law.