The Turkish president capitalizes on international crises to boost his country’s prestige.
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Turkey’s broadcasting censor recently issued a new directive to the country’s television channels: There was to be no criticism of NATO on the airwaves. In the run-up to the alliance’s landmark summit, which was held in the Turkish capital of Ankara last week, good vibes were state-mandated, and Turkish journalists were warned that all reports should “fit in with the national security perspective.”
Hannah Lucinda Smith is a journalist and analyst who was based in Turkey between 2013 and 2026. She is the author of Erdogan Rising, an account of the president’s descent into autocracy, and the newly released Hinterlands, which examines how Erdoğan and Putin are wielding soft and hard power across Europe.
