Photo Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast/Getty
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan surprised observers last month by winning a presidential election runoff, extending his rule into a third decade.
Erdogan secured more than 52 percent of the vote, in defiance of almost all polling, and despite political crises, including soaring inflation that passed 80 percent in 2022—and scathing criticism over his handling of earthquakes that killed more than 50,000 people.
The enduring political strength of Erdogan reinforces a wider dynamic: the remarkable resilience of the populist “strongman.”