Demographic shifts have contributed to an illiberal trend also fueled by five decades of occupation and settlement of Palestinian lands. The new right-wing majority is trying to stifle dissenting voices.

As long as Turkey's desire for EU membership represented an abstract ideal…, Turkey's military and civilian elite could avoid acknowledging the potential political costs of membership in the eu. And as long as the Europeans kept Turkey at arm's length, that elite's willingness to implement the domestic reforms necessary for EU membership was never put to the test.