On the eve of the final round of Turkey’s presidential election, the suspense has worn off.
After the third-placed candidate from a fortnight ago, Sinan Ogan, announced his support for the incumbent, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s chances of gaining the extra 1.5% he needed for victory increased.
However, the reality is that the contest would never have attracted so much attention had it not been for the efforts of commentators – especially in Western Europe and the US – to present it as an almost civilizational choice.
In this version, Erdogan’s opponent – the elderly, well-mannered Kemal Kilicdaroglu – has been positioned as symbol of Western-style democratic development. Meanwhile, the current president is the embodiment of a return to the past.
This narrative is illustrative and typical. The more complex the world around us, and the more often it rejects previous patterns, the greater the desire to fit it into a simple and understandable format. Ideally, that format would be one of contrasts. In this case, a modern democrat, striving for good, is supposed to be facing off against a vicious and backward-looking authoritarian. The desire for simplification is not only humanly understandable, but also has its uses. Decision-makers need some kind of easily digestible picture. In a sense, it is better for them to have it than not to have it, even if it is wrong.