What does it mean to defend democracy and human rights globally? It is not enough to respond to only the most egregious situations, such as the mass detentions of millions of Uyghurs by China, or the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine by Russia. We also need to respond early to deteriorating situations where there is rising authoritarianism and declining respect for human rights.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a rising authoritarian, and western democracies should start responding.