“What’s going to happen with U.S.-Turkish relations after Trump leaves? It’s going to necessarily be very different from Trump’s attitude toward Turkey.”

“We are also seeing that for these regimes, terrorism and content removal is not actually that interlinked. Particularly in Turkey, there is a huge hypocrisy in the way the government approaches this issue.”

“Today, when Erdogan constantly invokes Ottoman history while pursuing policies that threaten the interests of Arab leaders, it makes sense that they would appeal to this memory.”

“[Erdoğan] is a bit of a revolutionary leader in that he wants to turn Turkey into something completely new. He has already done this with his presidential system. He has already done this through various cultural policies and economic policies.”

“Turkey’s blatant defiance of the ECHR ruling clearly shows that Erdoğan’s regime has no respect for international law or institutions. Turkey’s friends in Europe and the U.S. must recognize, and many already do, what Kavala’s detention shows.”

“Erdoğan is anxious to shore up support, and his preferred strategy has been to harden his illiberal, nationalist and Islamist positions. The conversion of Ayasofya would bolster that image on the international stage.”