Baker Institute expert available to comment on Turkish coup

David Ruth
david@rice.edu

Baker Institute expert available to comment on Turkish coup

HOUSTON — (July 15, 2016) – The following are initial comments by Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy’s Kadir Yildirim on today’s attempted Turkish coup.

“Developments earlier today in Turkey indicate a coup attempt by a military faction,” Yildirim said. “The outcome is uncertain at this time and will likely continue to be uncertain until tomorrow, at the earliest.

“The coup attempt will hurt Turkish democracy regardless of its outcome. If the coup is successful, the military will suspend democracy for years to come and a return back to civilian rule will be marred by authoritarian tendencies.

“If the coup is unsuccessful, President Erdogan will increase his control and eliminate all opposition by using the coup attempt as pretext. Turkish democracy could face a similar fate to Chavez’s Venezuela.”

Yildirim’s research interests include democratization, politics and religion, political economy, political Islam, the politics of the Middle East and Turkish politics.

To schedule an interview with Yildirim, contact David Ruth at david@rice.edu.

Rice University has a VideoLink ReadyCam TV interview studio. ReadyCam is capable of transmitting broadcast-quality standard-definition and high-definition video directly to all news media organizations around the world 24/7.

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