Turkish-Western Relations:
Islamic Resurgence and Authoritarianism
A deterioration of the relationship between the Turkish political establishment and the European Union (EU) has been indicated by the recent shutdown of Turkish political rallies for the ruling AKP (Justice and Development) party in Germany and an end to the Turkish bid to join the EU. In 2016, The European Parliament voted to suspend negotiations with Turkey concerning its induction to the EU, over human rights and “rule of law concerns”. This can be explained by a recent shift towards Islam, authoritarianism, and euroscepticism in Turkey and by the notion that these trends contradict the political mold of the neo-liberal West. Today, Turkey is crucial to U.S. and Western security interests in the Middle East not only because of its geopolitical positioning, but also because of the example it sets of a coexistence of Islam with secular democracy, capitalism, and general modernity. The historical significance of the Turkish transformation from the Ottoman Empire into a modern, secular, and democratic republic beginning in 1924 and the subsequent developments regarding the resurgence of Islam and authoritarian governmental structure be necessary to address in order illustrate the causes of this conflict. To contextualize events concerning this perceived shift in relations, providing historical evidence is necessary. The history of Turkish political and social developments will show how this nation has travelled the path towards an inevitable divergence with the West.
Background
Following the collapse of the Ottoman Empire at the conclusion of World War I, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk led Turkish revolutionaries to a victory in the Turkish War of Independence and established the modern Turkish Republic we know today. As President of Turkey, Atatürk began the process of implementing reforms intended to bring secularization and industrialization to the country. Turkey remained essentially neutral in the second World War but played a role in the 1947 Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe and became a member of the Council of Europe in 1949. In 1952, Turkey officially became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and allied itself with the United States and Western Europe throughout the Cold War. Since its formal creation, Turkey’s foreign policy emphasized a strong relationship with the Western world including the United States and Europe, primarily due to Atatürk’s Western-inspired reforms. This resolute commitment to the West began to change in the post-Cold War era as Turkey began seeking to bolster its regional influence in the Middle East, the Balkans and the Caucasus. This diversification of relations has put Turkey is a unique position in globally. In November of 2002, Recep Tayyip Erdogan led the AKP Party to election as the ruling political party in Turkey. Now under Erdogan’s AKP government, Turkey’s influence in the Middle East has grown substantially. In the West, the growing influence of Turkey precipitated a strong division. Some viewed Turkey as distancing itself from Western society and toward a more Islamic orientation, while others saw the stronger Turkish ties with Islamic neighbors as a positive progression toward diversification and inclusion. To a great degree, I believe the latter viewpoint was short-sighted and dismissive of certain concerted actions by Erdogan’s Turkey to consolidate power within its non-european sphere of influence. If there is one quote that can best summarize Erdogan’s intentions as the leader of Turkey in regard to Western ideals it must be this, when he famously said: “Democracy is like a train. We shall get out when we arrive at the station we want.”
Secularism and the Resurgence of Islam
In the geographic region that now constitutes modern Turkey the practice of Islam has a history stretching back to the 11th century. Today, 99% of Turkey’s population identifies as Muslim with about 75% being of the Sunni denomination while 20% adhere to Shia Muslim sects. During the Atatürk secularization certain religious practices and institutions were abolished and the value of religion was questioned, in the face of more scientific and westernized values. Despite this, the secular ruling elite were not able to dismantle the role of Islam in public life in the 1920s and 1930s. As soon as 1925, religious discord led to uprisings like the Seyh Saitwere Rebellion in southeastern Turkey and although Turkey was officially secularized, Islam persisted as a powerful force in society. Although opposed by the state elite, after World War II, some Turkish political leaders catered to the public attachment to religion by supporting policies for state-sponsored religious practices. The aversion to religious values and beliefs by the ruling class and the strong adherence to Islam by the rest of the Turkish population eventually led to a highly polarized society. In the 1980s, this became evident as a new wave of religiously motivated leaders challenged the secularized political elite by asserting pride concerning Turkey’s Islamic heritage and history. Since this formal political resurgence Turkey has gradually drifted back toward policies inclusive of the practice of Islam. By 1994, a true revival of Islamic observation had taken place. This year saw avowed religious candidates winning mayoral elections in Istanbul and Ankara, the two largest cities in the country. Campaign slogans promising a return to Islam as a cure for economic ills and bureaucratic inefficiencies indicate how well Islamism was received by the Turkish population. By the turn of the century, the secular nature of the Turkish Republic and the legacy of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk had dissolved.
Islamic political parties in modern Turkey were mostly fringe organizations until the late 1990s and have continued their ascension to the mainstream ever since. The overwhelming success of the AKP in the last two national elections indicates the growing potential for the success of a political movement with Islamic roots. Although the AKP is not formally define as an Islamic party, its electoral success is owed largely to its theological base. Critics of the party (most of whom have been suppressed and silenced by the government) accuse it of seeking to inject Islamists into the civil bureaucracy and local governments. With the AKP exerting the sole power in the executive and legislative branches of government, the appointment of judges, administrators, military and other officials rests only with Erdogan. With Turkey’s bid to join the EU dissolving in 2016, fears intensified in the West that the AKP might turn to strengthening ties to the Muslim world, especially with Iran and Syria in an effort to create a competing Islamic bloc.
Authoritarianism
In July 2016, a military coup was attempted in Turkey. President Erdogan has blamed the attempt to overthrow the government on Fethullah Gulen, an exiled cleric, and his followers. However, many external intelligence sources finger Erdogan’s government as the orchestrators. Since, more than 30,000 citizens have been imprisoned and over 100,000 teachers, judges, and civil servants have been dismissed with little to no explanation. Turkey recently also received criticism for holding referendum elections to greatly increase presidential authority while the country was still under emergency rule from the coup attempt.
The practice of freedom of media in Turkey has deteriorated since the AKP has come to power according the FreedomHouse.org. The AKP government has instituted new legislation both expanding state jurisdiction to block internet traffic and bolstering the surveillance capacity of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT). In the previous decade journalists in the country encountered unprecedented legal obstacles as Turkish courts restricted specifically reporting on governmental corruption and national security concerns. The continued crackdown on reporting in the country has led to legitimate concerns in the West about the rule of law in Turkey.
President Erdogan has publicly harassed and threatened journalists while his government continued to use financial leverage to influence the coverage of “politically sensitive issues”. In 2014 alone, dozens of journalists and editors lost employment as a result of political pressure and a climate of increasing media polarization and censorship persists.
The constitutional guarantees of freedom of expression and freedom of the press in only partially upheld in Turkey today and have been gradually eroded. In February of 2014, amendments to the “Internet Law of Turkey” strengthened the power of the Telecommunication Authority allowing the blockage of websites on vaguely defined grounds for reasons of “national security, the restoration of public order, and the prevention of crimes,”. Also in 2014, laws were passed expanding the power of the State Intelligence Service and the National Intelligence Organization (MIT). This includes permitting these state-run organizations to access any personal data on all citizens without court approval and provides immunity for MIT personnel who commit violations of the law during their work. Along with the criminalization of reporting or acquiring information about the MIT, forcing media workers to face up to nine years of imprisonment for publishing any intelligence material, this degradation of constitutional protections is especially worrying for U.S. and European leaders and lawmakers and marks a notable divergence from the ideals espoused by western neo-liberal democracies.
Conclusion
With widespread clampdowns against political opponents, increased pandering to the Islamic base, a questionable coup attempt and a concerted degradation of constitutional protections for the media and for civil liberties the AKP has accelerated Turkey’s trend away from secularism and towards an authoritarian Islamic regime not seen since before the modern Turkish state was formed 100 years ago. These actions have soured Ankara’s relations with much of the Western world, especially in Europe. The recent shift towards Islam, authoritarianism, and euroscepticism in Turkey has been a result of both popular trends and government intervention and has created an increasingly hostile and suspicious attitude from the Western world.