Portrait of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
In office today

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

President of Turkey, 2014 to present (Prime Minister 2003 to 2014)

Has dominated Turkish politics for over two decades, shifting the country toward a strong presidency and a greater public role for religion.

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sits in the right-authoritarian part of the Caucus economy and liberty compass: slightly free market and strongly authoritarian. The clearest positions are strongly authoritarian on liberty and authority, strongly traditional on culture and strongly nationalist on nation.

Read more about Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wikipedia →

Where Recep Tayyip Erdoğan sits on eight dimensions

Each scale runs from one pole to the other, and the dot shows the overall tendency of this leader's record and public life. These are simplified estimates and open to debate.

💰EconomySlightly free market
State-ledFree market
⚖️Liberty and authorityStrongly authoritarian
LibertarianAuthoritarian
🎭CultureStrongly traditional
ProgressiveTraditional
🌍NationStrongly nationalist
GlobalistNationalist
🌱EnvironmentLeaning growth-first
Growth-firstNature-first
🤖TechnologyLeaning tech-optimist
Tech-cautiousTech-optimist
🕊️War and peaceStrongly strength-first
Peace-firstStrength-first
🏛️InstitutionsLeaning anti-establishment
Anti-establishmentInstitutional

Leaders most like Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Viktor Orbán Prime Minister of Hungary, 1998 to 2002 and 2010 to 202686%Aleksandar Vučić President of Serbia, 2017 to 202684%Karol Nawrocki President of Poland, 2025 to present83%Giorgia Meloni Prime Minister of Italy, 2022 to present83%Abelardo de la Espriella President of Colombia, 2026 to present82%Prabowo Subianto President of Indonesia, 2024 to present81%

Leaders furthest from Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

Olof Palme Prime Minister of Sweden, 1969 to 1976 and 1982 to 19865%José Mujica President of Uruguay, 2010 to 20155%Mahatma Gandhi Leader of the Indian independence movement7%

Political views closest to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

FascismAn ultranationalist one-party dictatorship built on a leader cult, militarism and the…81%FalangismA Spanish fascist-inspired movement stressing nation, Catholicism and corporatist unity.80%National conservatismPrioritizes national sovereignty, cultural identity, tradition and firm borders.79%

Percentages show how close two profiles are across all eight dimensions. Including a person here is for historical study and comparison, not approval. Portrait: Rory Arnold, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons; see all photo credits.