Erdogan: a classic case of power corrupting

Political: Two-thirds of Turks in a survey revealed they perceive political parties to be corrupt. Turkey lacks an entity that monitors the financing of parties, which are required to submit their financial tables to the Constitutional Court, an institution ill-equipped to handle audits.

Additionally, according to the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation, Turkey "does not have a specific regulatory process to eliminate possible conflicts of interest" for parliamentarians who transition to the private sector after their terms are complete.

Commenting on former Prime Minister Davutoglu's "transparency package", Erdogan shamelessly stated that "If it [requiring party officials to reveal wealth] goes on like this, you can't find anyone to chair even [the AKP's] provincial and district branches."

Several of Erdogan's ministers (Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan, Interior Minister Muammer Guler, and Environment Minister Erdogan Bayraktar) resigned after their sons were arrested on allegations of bribery. Following their resignation, Erdogan "

proceeded to dismiss thousands of police officers, prosecutors, and judges" and accused the Gulen movement of a coup attempt.

The arrest and indictment in US courts of Iranian-Turkish gold trader Reza Zarrab poses a significant threat to Erdogan's authority, as top AK officials are wrapped up in the indictment-including some of Erdogan's family members. Pro-government media quickly leveled accusations against the American prosecutor and judge involved in the case of being instruments of the Gulen movement.

The ramifications of the wide-spread political corruption also have major adverse impacts on Turkey's relations with foreign governments who interact with Ankara out of necessity rather than by free choice-particularly the EU-which makes Turkey's foreign relations tenuous and puts its long-term security at risk.

Judiciary: According to the 2013 Global Corruption Barometer, 13% of households reported having to pay a bribe after coming into contact with the judiciary, which has increased in the past three years. The flaws of the Turkish judiciary have "undermined the acceptance of the ruling by all segments of Turkish society and tainted it with allegations of political score-settling."

An even-handed judiciary is necessary to have a healthy and sustainable democracy. But when it becomes corrupted, as it has in Turkey, it is not just the cases before a court that become compromised-there is a ripple effect that occurs, impacting on behavior of officials engaged in criminal activity and who feel they can continue to act in such a manner with impunity.

Military: According to the EU Progress Report 2016, extensive legal protection is given to counter-terrorism personnel and "the military and intelligence services continue to lack sufficient accountability in Parliament." The same report states that "Access to audit reports by the Turkish Court of Accounts on the security, defense and intelligence agencies remains restricted."

Erdogan has replaced hundreds of generals, which led to a reduction in strategic planning and overall quality of military effectiveness. His purge of the military high brass three years ago on charges of conspiring to topple the government has eroded Turkey's position in NATO.

Similarly, the purge of the top echelon of the military following the July 2016 coup further weakened military preparedness, which raises serious questions about Turkey's military prowess and its effectiveness as a member of NATO.