to watch the conversation click TURKEY RECAP, May 22, 2026
Berk Esen, associate professor of political science at Sabancı University in Istanbul, joins Turkey recap editor Diego Cupolo for an emergency podcast on the latest blow against Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).
On Thursday, May 22, a Turkish court ousted CHP head Özgür Özel from the party leadership and replaced him with his predecessor Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu.
This podcast outlines Turkey’s ongoing slide towards autocracy, how Özel and his supporters might respond and the prospects for early elections as a result of this unprecedented moment in Turkish politics.