Comparative politics

I decided that "comparative politics" is the best way to avoid my hopelessness concerning Turkey's politics. I think that, after all, there are many other countries in bad shape all over the world, and even the most advanced countries can be on the list nowadays. Take the United States and its two repulsive candidates for the presidential elections; take the United Kingdom post-Brexit, its two hopeless major parties and its peculiar foreign minister; or take France where Nicolas Sarkozy has returned to politics… Forgetting about the problems of the rise of the far right, immigration and the like, compared to these so-called "advanced democracies" and the most powerful countries, Turkey may not seem as bad as we used to think. 

Then, there are all those relatively significant countries which are being governed by populist dictators like India and Poland, to say nothing of our neighboring countries which are either at war or being ruled by fundamentalist sheikhs, emirs, monarchs or military dictators like Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt. Still, I have chosen the Philippines for comparison in order to find some more consolation.  

I think the Philippines under its new elected leader, Rodrigo Duterte, is a brilliant case with which to make comparison and feel good. First of all, the fact that Duterte was democratically elected by the majority even though he denounced democracy, democratic values and the order of law in his election campaign, tells a lot about the new form of democracy which has been reduced to elections and majoritarianism. Thank God, the majority in my country chose those who, at least, pretend to value democracy and the rule of law. Well, Turkey has slid toward authoritarianism in recent years under the Justice and Development Party ...