Sitting on a very narrow fence, (the iron mare) as a permanent position, can be extremely painful!
Turkey needs to decide, whether she wants to join the EU, and NATO, and commit to all that then goes with it!?
Or return to the troubled past, and some sort of cozy, but relatively asinine (short lived) deal with Russia or the east!?
Perhaps WW1 and all that went with it, was not a big enough lesson, and therefore, almost bound to be repeated, with possibly, even worse and much more costly consequences!
Oh for another Ataturk!
Personally and my advice, would be to chose the side of the angels, and with it, peace, pragmatism, prosperity; and endless biogas.
Turkey would be a great boots on the ground, highly respected ally, in dealing with the barbarous Syrian regime, and an even more barbarous Isil!
They need to stop their almost myopic focus on the Kurds, (internal division/infighting) and instead, use this once in a lifetime opportunity, to get them well and truly onside, and fighting shoulder to shoulder, against very common, intensely evil enemies!
Let the Kurds have their way, and regional autonomy! There's absolutely nothing of any value to lose, and everything of any real worth or importance to gain!
And pardon the intentional (curds and whey) cheesy pun.
Rhrosty.

Like Putin I think Erdoagan is a product of the system, while Ataturk was the problem or cause of modern day issues of democracy and various freedoms in Turkey. The republic, constitution, state sector etc. had been primed to support the supremacy of the state, over the individual, i.e. the most 'soviet' like state outside of the USSR, dominated by oligarchs (holding cos.), state industry, military and Islam (albeit with strong SME sector).

Many positives along the way, but Ataturk's legacy had been set in amber precluding flexibility, and informing all generations directly (and indirectly via education curricula) that the state is paramount, and its subjects are expected to be VERY patriotic believers.

While hard left politics emerged post WWII the 'establishment' needed a model to conserve the status quo i.e. 'Francoisation' to keep youth out of politics and dangerous ideas, exemplified by introducing religious education, Sunni becoming the state religion (while 30%> are Alevi?), allowing Imam Hatip schools, building local football pitches, media control etc..

Under the new quasi military democracy in the 1980s, President Kenan Evren (formerly military) first public words were, according to Mehmet Ali Birand, 'Allah Akbar' which suggests that religion was being leveraged for politcal gain... so Erdogan is merely taken control of tools created by previous regimes....