Erdogan was not at this point until the coup. Erdogan also has a critical advantage though, a reliable horde of expat voters who leave Turkey because things are shitty but inexplicably put up Assad numbers for Erdogan. He can afford to go slower without electoral consequence.
yeh that's the thing--well for me I don't feel secure in my knowledge but in general it seems pretty clear all 1:1 comparisons break down after a while. Sure, look at the similarities esp for weak points & strategy, but it's not a predictive power, which is what I think people are looking for here.
Yes. I said that competitive autocracy is a sliding scale but you're right: even that model is far too one-dimensional. There are always some similarities because the fundamentals of power work the same anywhere. But there will also be differences and life isn't linear.
course that’s worse (again) since the fucking Roberts court honestly i think at this point the single biggest issue is SCOTUS. media corruption & failure not far behind.
like i think even w/out Trump some states are pretty functional democracies, albeit the usual big money advantage bullshit; and then you have, well, Texas among others.
the one (well, a main) thing I hold onto: none of these other contemporary tinpot tyrants are as old or in as bad shape as Trump. and cults of personalities don't pass down well, if at all. if there's any pretty consistent predictive factor, I think it's that.
I fantasize about the upheaval in the Maga movement when Dear Leader is gone. May we all live to see it.
I think you mean #FeatlessLeader!
i rather think most of us will. he is not exactly in his prime.
Praise FSM, (R)amen.