Reuben Silverman on the rise and fall of Turkey's Democrat Party

Dec 9, 2025
41 mins

Episode Description

Reuben Silverman on “The Rise and Fall of Turkey’s Democrat Party: The Cold War and Illiberalism, 1945–60” (Cambridge University Press)

Whether intended as criticism or praise, today’s AKP government is often placed in the lineage of the Democrat Party and Adnan Menderes, prime minister for 10 years before being overthrown in a military coup in 1960. However, as the book shows, ”the line from the Democrat Party to the present day is neither as straight nor as flattering as Erdogan would have it be”.

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