At first glance, the image of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s prime minister, spending political time and capital to ban the soap opera Muhtesem Yuzyil (The Magnificent Century), a drama depicting life in the imperial court of Suleiman the Magnificent, seems a bit ridiculous. Surely, in a period when the country is dealing with an increase in unemployment, a presidential election in 2014, and a constitutional overhaul, the last thing anyone would be interested in is a soap opera-esque drama about soap operas. But, in the larger scheme of things, there are several larger political takeaways from this drama. Here are six:
