MES presents: Sinan Ciddi

Sinan Ciddi on Turkey’s Coup of 15th July: A Gift for Erdogan

Sinan Ciddi, Executive Director, Institute of Turkish Studies,Visiting Assistant Professor, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University

Since the failed coup attempt of 15th July in Turkey, many accepted norms about Turkey’s pro-western credentials have begun to be questioned by policy makers in Washington and now in Europe. As the fallout from the coup progresses, it is becoming increasingly apparent that the Erdogan regime is interested in exacting maximum benefit out of the incident to solidify and augment his presidential power base. To what extent and how far will Erdogan go to pressure the EU and US governments to either turn a blind eye to Turkey’s pronounced undemocratic slide and/or burn bridges with these two entities unless he gets what he wants?

Sinan Ciddi is an expert on Turkish domestic politics and foreign policy. He earned  his Ph.D. in Political Science from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London in 2007. He was an instructor at Sabanci University, where he also completed his Post-Doctoral Fellowship. Between 2008-2011, he established the Turkish Studies program at the University of Florida’s Center for European Studies. In addition to his current teaching and research responsibilities at Georgetown, Ciddi serves as the Executive Director of the Institute of Turkish Studies. 

Ciddi’s book titled Kemalism in Turkish Politics: Secularism, Nationalism and the Republican People's Party (Routledge, January 2009) focuses on the electoral weakness of the Republican People’s Party.

Open to the public.

Sponsored by Middle Eastern Studies Program at the Moynihan Institute of Global Affairs