Questions are still swirling about who exactly planned the coup and why, but the Turkish leader is wasting no time in getting down to business and settling some old political scores. Over an estimated 50,000 people have either been detained or dismissed as the government widens its net in cracking down on dissent and catching all the coup plotters. Not only is Turkey in the midst of fast-moving internal changes, but it’s also accelerating its international ones as well.
Turkey normalized ties with Russia just days before the coup happened, and it even spoke about its intent to restore its relations with Syria. This makes the timing of the coup even more suspicious.
We discussed the situation in Turkey with Ernest Sultanov, coordinator at MIR-Initiative think-tank (studio guest); Brian Yeung, independent geopolitical analyst from Hong Kong (studio guest); Hasan Selim Ozertem, security expert and researcher at Ankara-based think-tank International Strategic Research Organization (USAK); and Serap Balaman, independent political analyst from Turkey.
