Kaya Genç New powers granted to the ‘bekçi’ – Turkey’s auxiliary police force – have led to a spate of violent confrontations, releasing traumatic memories of the military coup forty years ago. The revival of this Ottoman relic consolidates Erdoğan’s centralized rule. But will it end up hastening his decline? On 17 May 2020, soon after breaking his Ramadan fast in Turkey’s capital Ankara, 34-year-old Serkan Kantık left his home to put out the bin. Wearing pyjamas, he was crossing the street when two brown-shirted men approached him. A Covid-19 curfew was in place, and the men introduced themselves as bekçi, a word that translates as ‘watchmen’. They demanded to see ID. Kantık is an ex-commando, who suffered hearing loss