Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the president of Turkey known as a 'close friend' of U.S. President Donald Trump, is embroiled in controversy over his attempt to appoint a confidant as the president of a national university. Bogazici University, located in Istanbul, is one of the most prestigious universities in Turkey.
On the 19th (local time), the Financial Times reported that 'Bogazici's historic campus has become a focal point of Turkey's culture war,' adding that 'the controversy triggered by Erdoğan's appointment of a loyalist as rector in 2021 is expected to reach its peak again this week.'
According to the FT, President Erdoğan plans to appoint his aide as the new rector immediately after the current rector's term expires on the 20th. In 2021, Erdoğan appointed Melih Bulu, a pro-government figure, as rector, which sparked fierce backlash from students.
Turkey's Constitutional Court ruled that the president's appointment of a rector was unconstitutional due to procedural issues. However, the parliament amended relevant laws in June, providing Erdoğan with the legal basis to appoint the rector of Bogazici University. As Erdoğan seeks to appoint another pro-government figure as rector, opposition within the university is intensifying.
Vinal Cengiz Nobuz, an economics professor at Bogazici University and a commissioner in the university's decision-making body, said, 'Bogazici has effectively been subjected to a hostile takeover by the government. We were naive. We believed in liberal values. But now everyone is paying the price for that.'
Bogazici University had traditionally elected its rector autonomously, but that long-standing tradition has been disrupted by government intervention. Lijel Hintz, an expert on Turkey at Johns Hopkins University, said, 'The Erdoğan government has long sought to weaken and reorganize institutions they view as obstacles.'
President Erdoğan's efforts to control the university began amid dissatisfaction with progressive ideologies. In 2018, Erdoğan criticized Bogazici University, saying, 'It has failed to root itself in the true values of this country, and therefore has not reached the levels we desire.'
The FT analyzed that 'the root cause of the Bogazici crisis lies in Erdoğan, who grew up in a poor area of Istanbul and came to view Turkey's national university as a symbol of elitism, thereby acquiring the authority to impose Islamist and nationalist ideologies there.'
After Erdoğan's intervention in the appointment of the rector at Bogazici University, the institution's status has plummeted. According to the FT, student satisfaction significantly dropped after the first pro-government rector took office in 2021. In Turkey's university rankings assessing academic performance, Bogazici fell from 11th place in 2020 to 22nd place this year.
There are assessments that the controversy surrounding Bogazici University is similar to cases where President Trump or Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán pressured prestigious universities to submit to their demands. Shortly after taking office, President Trump sought to cut financial support for universities, citing anti-Semitic protests on campus, while Prime Minister Orbán effectively closed Central European University due to the political leanings of its founder.