Former PM Ahmet Davutoglu Is No Remedy for Turkey’s Woes

A leader, who deflects any criticism about his role in enabling Erdogan’s authoritarian shift and dismantling of the Turkish democracy, is no remedy to save the country today.

Abdullah Ayasun
6 min readJul 23, 2020
Former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (L) shakes hands with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in 2015 in this archive photo. (Photo Credit: AP)

Turkey’s current course of political affairs offer little hope for a plausible change in the offing. Yet, for all the distressing picture, some politicians embrace the challenge to confront President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s tightening grip on the country by promising a return to normalcy — democratic politics. Former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is one of those politicians.

In a Zoom webinar with the D.C.-based Middle East Institute (MEI) last week, Davutoglu shared his vision of new Turkey, his party program, and provided a wide-ranging commentary on the most divisive socio-political issues of the day. The professor of political science, despite all his professed wisdom, has failed to offer reassurance about how to bridge up the gap between his lofty words and deeds. The…

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Abdullah Ayasun

Boston-based journalist and writer. Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. On art, culture, politics and everything in between. X: @abyasun