The Personality and Leadership Style of Recep Tayyip Erdogan: Implications for Turkish Foreign Policy

Abstract

Recep Tayyip Erdog. an is clearly the most controversial figure in recent Turkish political history. His preponderance in political life is remarkable even by Turkish standards. Because Erdog. an is so powerful and has effectively weakened most internal checks on his power any attempt to explain Turkey's recent foreign policy outcomes will be seriously lacking without considering his leadership impact. The purpose of this study is to investigate Erdog. an's worldview and leadership style and evaluate their impact on his government's policy processes and outputs. To do that we employ the Leadership Trait Analysis technique to construct the leadership profile of Erdog. an through content analysis of his verbal records while in office. We contend here that our understanding of AKP-era Turkey is enhanced if we offer a systematic and rigorous account of Erdogan's personality and that he presents a clear example of the importance of taking individual-level variables seriously in foreign policy analysis.