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Comment by StavrosK | Hacker News Reader

I'm sure he's perfectly aware that Turkey isn't going to join the EU, which is why he feels like he has nothing to lose with these actions.

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About 15% of Turkey's exports are to the EU, and over two-thirds of their tourists.

Turkish industry heavily utilizes EU financial and consulting services.

Turkey also benefits from various infrastructural and knowledge-sharing schemes supplied by the EU.

So, quite a lot to lose.

I meant regarding the possibility of joining the EU, that ship has sailed. I guess he feels that the EU needs Turkey more than the other way around?

Well, whatever he thought, Covid-19 has blown everyone's plans wide open.

Erdogan has to somehow keep his deeply indebted country rolling and his population of 82 million employed. It seems foolish to start picking fights with his biggest trading partner but, who knows, perhaps this is the sort of distraction that will keep his population focused on nationalism.

Hey, I completely agree with you, I'm just theorizing on what his thought process might be.

He seems to be feeding his nationalistic sheeple by strenghtening the reliegious ethos with such moves as turning Hagia Sofia into a Mosque and taking over this neutral territory which was in limbo for a really long time. Erdogan has nothing else to show his supporters rather than Turkey is becoming strong again, some sort of Turkish version of MAGA. The Turks who don’t support Erdogan are powerless at the moment. Only economic disaster will weaken his grip on power there. Similar to Erdogan we have Viktor Orban in Hungary and many others in the making. Hopefully once Trump is out other totalitarian dictators will follow suit

Everything you say is correct, but Erdogan predated MAGA. It is Trump that emulates the fascism and jingoistic populism of Erdogan. They are made from the same cloth.

Nato needs turkey.

Why?

Turkey needs NATO more than the other way around

(a) Bosporus

(b) the nukes (İncirlik)

As to who needs whom more, I have no opinion.

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