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Sunday April 16 could well mark the end of democracy in Turkey. Citizens will vote on a referendum to consolidate President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s power, radically transforming a nearly 70-year-old parliamentary system into a more authoritarian executive regime with few checks and balances.
A “yes” in the referendum will crush many Turks’ aspirations of peace and freedom. But, as Ahmet Erdi Öztürk and Simon P. Watmough argue, a “no” vote does not necessarily bode well, either. Rejection at the polls could trigger Erdoğan’s ire, leading to increased rhetorical attacks on Europe (and further imperiling Turkey’s frustrated EU bid) and more crackdowns on those deemed “enemies” of the state. Turkey, hold your breath.
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Is Erdoğan (on the right) projecting himself as the next Atatürk (on the left), modern Turkey’s revered founding father?
Umit Bektas/Reuters
Simon P. Watmough, European University Institute; Ahmet Erdi Öztürk, Université de Strasbourg
Turkey's referendum could lead to a tremendous change in the country's political development, leading to an extremely autocratic regime.
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Business + Economy
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Isabelle Bensidoun, CEPII – Recherche et expertise sur l’économie mondiale; Andrea Goldstein, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore - Catholic University of Milan; Françoise Lemoine, CEPII – Recherche et expertise sur l’économie mondiale; Jézabel Couppey-Soubeyran, CEPII – Recherche et expertise sur l’économie mondiale
China is now the world's second-largest international investor. Should the US and Europe be scared?
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Health + Medicine
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Jeremiah Waweru Gathirwa, Kenya Medical Research Institute; Ruth Monyenye Nyang’acha,, Kenya Medical Research Institute
There's a need for new anti-malarial agents due to some malaria drugs becoming ineffective in the fight against the disease.
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Science + Technology
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David Rothery, The Open University
New findings make it hard to imagine a more important goal for solar system exploration than searching for microbial life in Enceladus' internal sea.
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Julien Benoit, University of the Witwatersrand
Sea cows (Sirenia) descended from four legged mammals that roamed Africa when this continent was isolated. They belong to the Afrotheria, the 'African beasts'.
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