All Policy Analysis by Soner Cagaptay

Erdogan's lifelong resentment of secularists has decimated Turkish democracy.

The Turkish president is taking steps to end democracy itself in Turkey, further polarizing an already sharply divided country.

Because Erdogan's approach delegitimizes all opposition, 40 million of the country's 80 million inhabitants are left on the outside, a recipe for national social upheaval not seen since the late 1970s.

President Erdogan has catapulted his country into crisis through his attempt to stay in power.

As Washington considers its next steps in northern Syria, it will need to weigh the geostrategic consequences of backing local Kurdish forces whose objectives may align or conflict with those of Russia, Iran, and various other actors.

A Turkey expert reads between the lines of the latest meeting between the two presidents, assessing whether policy changes are afoot on Syria, the Kurds, and other issues.

Erdogan has always wanted to take revenge on the system that repeatedly persecuted Turkey's Islamist movement, his first political home.

Erdogan may be willing to give President Trump a free hand in Raqqa, but only if Washington supports Turkish action against the PKK in Sinjar and continues the conversation on Fethullah Gulen.

The West's relationship with Ankara will become increasingly cold as long as populist leaders on both sides continue polarizing their constituents with anti-Muslim and anti-Western rhetoric.

In a world of rising tensions between Russia and the United States, the Middle East and Europe, Sunnis and Shiites, Islamism and liberalism, Turkey is at the epicenter. And at the heart of Turkey is its right-wing populist president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Since 2002, Erdogan has consolidated his hold on

Read a summary or watch video of an in-depth conversation regarding Turkey's recent referendum, which has further consolidated Erdogan's hold on power but also signaled deep internal divisions.

Without an organized opposition, Erdogan's expanded powers may end Turkish democracy.

As Europe and the United States await the fallout from the April 16 referendum to gauge the future of an important partner, they must also recognize some sad realities about the state of Turkish politics and society.