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TOPSHOT – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gestures amid confetti during a rally in Istanbul on March 11, 2017. Erdogan threatened to retaliate after the Netherlands banned the foreign minister from flying in for a campaign rally, as he said The Hague’s behaviour was reminiscent of Nazism. Turkish politicians are keen to harness votes of the Turkish community in Europe ahead of the April 16 referendum on whether to boost Erdogan’s powers. / AFP PHOTO / OZAN KOSE (Photo credit should read OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)
Turkey: Empire of Erdogan

Turkey: Empire of Erdogan

TOPSHOT – Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gestures amid confetti during a rally in Istanbul on March 11, 2017. Erdogan threatened to retaliate after the Netherlands banned the foreign minister from flying in for a campaign rally, as he said The Hague’s behaviour was reminiscent of Nazism. Turkish politicians are keen to harness votes of the Turkish community in Europe ahead of the April 16 referendum on whether to boost Erdogan’s powers. / AFP PHOTO / OZAN KOSE (Photo credit should read OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

BBC iPlayer, out now

In a move well-timed with Turkey’s recent election – and upcoming presidential runoff – BBC Two has released a two-part documentary on the man at the centre of it, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Using archive footage and a veritable “who’s who” of the British foreign press, the episodes show how Erdoğan’s understanding of religion’s power in Turkey and knowledge of populist poetry helped take him from the son of a ship captain to Mayor of Istanbul, prime minister and eventually president. It’s an informative, if not always engaging, watch, keen on highlighting how past moments in Erdoğan’s life could have been clues to his eventual turn towards dictatorship.

Photograph Ozan Kose/AFP via Getty Images