• Relieved the prime minister of his duties, to assume the executive authority

• Suspended Parliament, and closed the offices of some foreign news agencies

• These suspensions disregarded Article 80, that restricted the President's emergency powers to be within consultation by the Prime Minister and Parliament

• Media was curtailed; journalists could be prosecuted for discussing an subject deemed controversial

• More than 80 journalists were fired during the Gezi Park protests in 2013

Websites were blocked, TV coverage was limited, Internet users could be identified

More than 500 laws passed during his first two years in office and Erdogan passed 2-dozen constitutional changes via the national referendum

○ President has power to name 14 out of 17 Constitutional Court Judges, removed 3000 sitting judges

○ The AKP controlled legislature that decides what parties are legal for elections

The National Intelligence Organization has the power to collect 'all information, documents or data from any entity in Turkey' without seeking judicial permission or submit to judicial review

Russia - control of the media and cracking down of civil liberties, as well as Putin waging war every time Russia undergoes an economic/trade crisis and/or when they mistrust western countries

Poland - elder demographic tend to be ultra-conservative and xenophobic, rift is worsened by liberal groups, as well as potential pro-Russian officials being investigated and persecuted

Belarus - Alexander Lukashenko (1994-), current president of Belarus, controls 70% of the economy and faces issues of grand corruption and connection between organized crime and the state

• Argentina - high inflation and economic crisis, demolition of several ministries lead to shrinking state may (or may not) lead to authoritarianism

• Azerbaijan - crackdown on dissent and humans rights abuses

• Bangladesh - Hasina's systematic marginalizing the opposition, creatively eroding civil society

• Hungary - worsened to the point of no return by elitist, corrupt politicians

• Thailand - military coup, constitution abolished, freedom of speech and assembly is restricted

• Turkey - Erdogan's curtailing media and TV programs, systematic marginalizing the opposition, creatively eroding civil society