Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is a political survivor. For more than 20 years, first as Turkey’s Prime Minister and then as its President, he has weaved his way through the kinds of crises that end the careers of even the most resourceful and resilient of leaders: runaway inflation, a spiraling currency, the arrival of millions of refugees, a devastating earthquake, corruption accusations, mass protests, international condemnation and pressure, and a 2016 coup attempt. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] Erdoğan has always been a shrewd populist who understands the importance of cultivating both the right friends and the right enemies.