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The Autocrats’ Playbook: Putin’s Russia and Erdogan’s Turkey

34:07July 22, 2021

Many prefer to measure today's authoritarian regimes against the West’s standards in everything from governance to culture. But taking a closer look at the authoritarian world itself and studying its evolution is probably more illuminating.

Despite constant geopolitical infighting, Russia and Turkey display striking similarities in the stance they take toward the West. Moscow and Ankara's crackdown on media, political opponents, the non-governmental sector and even independent universities inevitably call for comparisons between the two.

The Kennan Institute's Maxim Trudolyubov discusses novel authoritarian trends with Ayşe Zarakol, reader in international relations at the University of Cambridge, and Sergei Guriev, professor of economics at Sciences Po Paris.


Kennan Institute

The Kennan Institute is the premier US center for advanced research on Eurasia and the oldest and largest regional program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The Kennan Institute is committed to improving American understanding of Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and the surrounding region though research and exchange.  Read more