Struggle between authoritarianism and democratization in Turkey: the media's coverage of the Kurdish conflictWhen Turkey was granted candidate status to EU membership in 1999 and negotiations started in 2005, hopes were high that the country would meet EU requirements for democratization and that a solution would be found to the so-called «Kurdish problem». However, a democratization process implies a critical and free media. Turkey's citizens and Western allies are now following recent developments with concern. Journalists, writers and elected politicians have been imprisoned for their work, some held on terror-related charges or propaganda and others for allegedly participating in antigovernment plots. With this as a backdrop, to what extent is Erdogan and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) democratizing the country? My aim in this article is to answer the question and explore the extent to which media censorship and control is occurring, in particular regarding Kurdish insurgency in Turkey. I make use of primary and secondary data, including interviews with media experts in Turkey and a selection of newspaper articles from six Turkish newspapers. The Turkish government already exercises a tight hand over Turkey's traditional media, yet, as the analysis reveals, under Erdogan the government controls of freedom of expression and press (in particular concerning the Kurdish conflict) are tightening further.