When Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced his latest package of democratic reforms, ultra-nationalist groups accused him of betraying the values of the republic founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, while Kurdish nationalists expressed frustration at the package's perceived inadequacy.
This polarized reaction is nothing new. Throughout his tenure, Erdogan has been condemned by the three leading secular opposition parties for pursuing too much reform, and by Turkey's minorities and civil-society organizations for doing too little.
But Erdogan has navigated this difficult political landscape deftly, with a cautious reform style that aims to build consensus through compromises that actually work when enacted. His gradual yet persistent efforts have succeeded in mobilizing his conservative supporters to back progressive change. Indeed, it was Erdogan's backers (often described as "Islamist" in Western media), not the pro-Western secularists, who defended the return of non-Muslim foundations' property confiscated by the republican regime.