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When it comes to foreign policy, will Erdogan resort to 'wily Oriental means'?

The best-case scenario for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the worst-case scenario for Turkey, could be the failure of possible coalition talks after the snap elections.

A member of security forces watches as Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan casts a shadow as he addresses to supporters in front of the party headquarters in Ankara August 10, 2014. Erdogan secured his place in history as Turkey's first directly elected president on Sunday, sweeping more than half the vote in a result his opponents fear heralds an increasingly authoritarian state.  REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY  - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)   - RTR41WAO
A member of security forces watches as Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan casts a shadow as he addresses supporters in front of the party headquarters in Ankara, Aug. 10, 2014. — REUTERS/Murad Sezer

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s shadow continues to loom large over Turkey’s foreign policy, restricting the ability of the government to provide the flexibility needed to meet the challenges of major international developments of vital concern to Ankara.

The question now is whether the results of the general elections on Nov. 1 will lift this shadow or entrench it even more. There are those who believe these elections could be the beginning of the end for the Erdogan era as we know it, but this remains an open question.

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