Turkey Needs Erdogan’s ’Master Period’ to End

The hope that Turkey might provide a model for modernizing Muslim countries -- combining Islam, democracy and market economics -- is being tested. A bitter quarrel between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his former allies continues to escalate. Financial markets are running scared, punishing the country’s stocks and currency. The fight doesn’t just threaten Erdogan’s government; it also calls into question vital Turkish institutions, including the rule of law.

In this struggle among Turkey’s religious conservatives, there’s no sense in outsiders choosing sides -- though they can remind Erdogan and his opponents of what is at stake. If Turkey is to move past this new outbreak of strife, the government and its critics alike must take up the unfinished business of strengthening the country’s still-fragile civic foundations. As yet, there seems little appetite for that in either camp.