Mustafa Gürbüz, a sociologist at the American University and host of the House of Wisdom podcast for Ahval, interviewed Ahmet T. Kuru, professor of political science at San Diego State University.
Kuru explained how Turkey has become an example of a state allied with the ulema, Islam’s scholar class, despite still being a constitutionally secular state under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
The professor also said the Turkish government’s attitude towards 2013’s nationwide Gezi Park protests and Erdoğan’s current Kanal Istanbul artificial waterway project are examples of rent seeking, despite Turkey being an oil-poor country.