[hx87]

> totalitarian

Probably the most misused term/epithet in international relations. At its worst Turkey is no more repressive than Russia or China and less repressive than Iran. Once you use "totalitarian" to describe authoritarian regimes, you run out of room to describe those that actually qualify as totalitarian, such as North Korea or Eritrea.

[dragonwriter]

> At its worst Turkey is no more repressive than Russia or China

This is what is called "setting the bar so low that a mouse could trip over it."

[hx87]

This is totalitarianism we're talking about, so the bar has to be very low. Otherwise you're classifying Imperial Germany and Nazi Germany in the same state-repression category, which is ludicrous.

[morgante]

I don't think anyone claims Russia or China are democratic. Nor are we planning to add them to the EU or NATO anytime soon.

[hx87]

Democracy and levels of state repression being orthogonal notwithstanding, not being democratic (or a EU/NATO candidate) does not imply that a state is totalitarian.

[rjbwork]

> Nor are we planning to add them to the EU or NATO anytime soon.

Well, neither is on the North Atlantic or in Europe.

Okay well, Russia sort of is, but...

[morgante]

Russia has just as much claim to being European as Turkey does.

[venomsnake]

Sort of? European Russia with Ukraine and Belarus is almost as big as the rest of europe combined

[bordercases]

"Very totalitarian" vs "somewhat totalitarian".

[hx87]

> "somewhat totalitarian"

There's already a term for that. Authoritarian.