THE END OF SECULAR TURKEY: Turkey declares a state of emergency for three months.

Turkey declared a state of emergency on Wednesday, a move that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said would enable the state to act faster against those who plotted a failed coup.

In a late-night televised address, Erdogan, who has been carrying out a large-scale purge of the country’s institutions, sought to reassure the country that the measure — which would be in force for three months — will protect democratic freedoms. But the move consolidates more power in the president’s hands, allowing him to rule by decree.

“Faster?”