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In the Hunt for the "Sultans of Smack:" Dope, Gangsters and the Construction of the Turkish Deep State
- The Middle East Journal
- Middle East Institute
- Volume 65, Number 3, Summer 2011
- pp. 426-441
- Article
- Additional Information
This article traces the development and evolution of the Turkish heroin trade against the backdrop of the Republic of Turkey's long transition from imperial core to nation-state. In taking up heroin's relationship to modern Turkey, I would like to specifically explore the meaning and manifestations of what many inside and outside of academia have called the "deep state." Heroin, I argue, was and is one of the most vital enablers of the factional "deep state" rivalries that compete for power in Ankara, adding a steady violent dimension to local and national politics.