What Turkey’s Dramatic Presidential Elections Mean for the World

The world is closely watching the presidential elections in Turkey — particularly the dynamic between incumbent President Recap Tayyip Erdogan and his main challenger, Kemal Kilicdaroglu. The election has been called the most consequential in Turkey since 1950.

Former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey David M. Satterfield speaks with Aslı Aydıntaşbaş of the Brookings Institute and Soner Cagaptay of the Washington Institute to unpack the political drama in Turkey’s election and its implications for the world. 

This conversation was recorded on May 11, 2023. 

Discussants:

• The Honorable David M. Satterfield, Director, Baker Institute; Janice and Robert McNair Chair in Public Policy; Former US Ambassador to Turkey (2019-2023)
• Aslı Aydıntaşbaş, Visiting Fellow, Center on the United States and Europe, Brookings Institute; Global Opinions Columnist, The Washington Post; Senior Policy Fellow, European Council on Foreign Relations
• Soner Cagaptay, Beyer Family Fellow and Director of the Turkish Research Program, The Washington Institute

About Baker Briefing

Baker Briefing is a podcast that tackles the most critical foreign and domestic policy issues of the day in conversations with experts at the Baker Institute. Hosted by the Honorable David M. Satterfield, director of the Baker Institute, new episodes are released weekly.

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