What's in store for Turkey's future? | To the point

What’s happening in Turkey matters for the world: not least of all for Europe and NATO. The arrest of the man seen as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s most serious challenger has kicked off Turkey’s biggest demonstrations in more than a decade.

The popular mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, is now sitting in prison facing charges of corruption. His university degree has been invalidated, making him ineligible to run for president. Since his detention, hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets to echo his claim that the charges are politically motivated – with Erdogan pulling the strings. Is this a nail in the coffin of Turkish democracy?

This week on To The Point we’ll look at what the future holds in store for a major NATO power and European partner.

Our guests:

Dilek Kurban, human rights scholar with the Amsterdam Center for International Law

Journalist Maximilian Popp, who was the German news magazine Der Spiegel’s Turkey correspondent

Journalist and author Özge Inan

DW’s correspondent Julia Hahn

Chapters:

0:00 Opener

01:40 Is Turkey sliding into dictatorship?

02:40 Turkey's situation is worsening

03:05 Protesters have a lot to lose

03:30 Why was Imamoglu arrested now?

04:40 Are the protests nationwide?

04:50 Protesters come from all social backgrounds

05:30 Many young people are joining the demonstrations

06:17 Is Erdogan taking advantage?

07:05 Video: Imamoglu and Erdogan

08:30 Imamoglu is a threat to Erdogan

09:24 Imamoglu corruption charges

11:22 Is Erdogan like Putin?

12:50 Western leaders enable Erdogan

13:45 Why is Europe so moderate?

14:20 Does Europe turn a blind eye?

15:08 Video: Turkey and NATO

16:38 What can Europe do to pressure Erdogan?

17:50 What if Turkey becomes a dictatorship?

20:40 Turkey is different from Russia and China

22:40 The big picture

23:30 Why doesn’t Europe see its responsibility?

24:00 People stand up

25:00 Where will Imamoglu be in three years?