President Erdoğan named among TIME’s Most Influential 100

ISTANBUL

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been named among the world’s 100 most influential people under the leaders category of TIME magazine’s annual list. 

Erdoğan’s introduction was written by Eurasia Group President Ian Bremmer, who defined Turkey’s president as a “remarkable leader” who has changed the country, by empowering its people and ironically at the same time, pushing it toward authoritarianism. 

“He has changed his country for the better by empowering millions of people who had never before participated in their nation’s political and economic life,” Bremmer said, while adding that his “thirst for power  has imperiled freedom of speech in Turkey and pushed his country toward authoritarianism.”

In his short piece, Bremmer argued Erdoğan will fail at home and abroad in 2016. Bremmer explained Erdoğan will not step up as a much-needed NATO partner in the region. Meanwhile, he will also fail in his home bid to introduce a presidential system in Turkey, in order to extend his far-reaching powers. 

The analyst also claimed that Erdoğan’s position as Turkey’s president meant he occupied the world’s most important geopolitical space amid the war in Syria and the refugee crisis. “He is not going anywhere anytime soon,” he added, urging the West to brace for the challenge.

Erdoğan was named alongside politicians and technocrats including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, U.S. presidential candidate and Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde. 

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump and North Korea’s supreme leader Kim Jong-un were also on the list, as the magazine underlines the list aims to measure influence, regardless of whether their impact is positive or negative.

The yardsticks for measuring influence were listed as a range of criteria from the number of Google News mentions to Facebook likes. The recognition is organized under five categories: pioneers, titans, artists, leaders and icons.