corruption_is_driving_the_us_and_turkey_apart.html

May 7, 2019
Corruption is Driving the U.S. and Turkey Apart
By Muhammed Bahadir Gulle
Turkey's plans to buy the S-400 missile defense system from Russia has sparked unprecedented tensions between Turkey and the U.S. Neither side will back off, and the prospect of an irreparable rupture in relations is looming. Yet the current crisis is not the source, but the result of the widening divergence between the two countries.

Along with strategic disputes, Turkey's growing corruption is imperiling relations on an even larger scale. Corruption is omnipresent, but it didn’t start with Recip Tayyip Erdoğan, although Erdoğan has institutionalized corruption in Turkey by creating a hierarchical network encompassing many fields of economic activity. Over time, this network has begun to define how Turkey engages with other countries.