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Turkey changes direction in the last 30 years

Reader comment on item: Who Lost Turkey?

Submitted by Ognyan Minchev (Bulgaria), Jun 11, 2010 at 08:55

Dear Mr. Pipes,

Your answer to the question "Who Lost Turkey" reflects the technical details of how this major swing to Islamism took place, yet it does not refer to the longer-term and deeper reasons of Turkey's political transformation. I think several points in that respects are useful:

1. Turgut Ozal started the cautious, but insistant involvement of Islam into the official state ideology - first in policies towards the outer Turks (on the Balkans and in the Middle East), and later on in domestic policies of his government.

2. Ozal has also revived the Ottoman imperial sentiments - he was in fact the statesman who created neo-Ottomanism and translated it into semi-official policy of the Turkish state. (See for example his book "Turkey in Europe and Europe in Turkey.) He authored the semi-official position of Turkey as the motherland of all Turks "from the Adriatic to the Great China Wall". That thesis combined neo-Ottomanism with pan-Turkism which constituted a double intrusion into the Kemalist legacy: first in terms of indirect restoration of Ottoman Islamist legitimacy, and - second - in degrading Kemalist principle of non-interventionism ("Peace in Turkey, peace n the world").

3. Islamism penetrated Turkish politics and government for two decades - not simply because of secular parties and elites fragmentation, but because of the legitimacy crisis of governing Kemalist ideology. The internal contradiction between Kemalist authoritarian nationalism and EU membership ambition has deepened this crisis and opened the way for hypocritical AKP "defense" of Europeanism against secularist status quo, guaranteed by the military and the National Security Council.

Yours cordially -

Ognyan Minchev

Submitting....

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Reader comments (58) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
1Missing the obvious [74 words]car313Oct 26, 2011 16:23190421
Blame Israel [25 words]Joseph IIJul 7, 2010 04:13175250
Europe is the number 1 responsible [44 words]Dawood BenatarJul 23, 2010 13:44175250
Can't lose what you never had [67 words]DaveJun 29, 2010 09:08174979
1Turkey lost itself [303 words]Cherif El-AyoutyJun 29, 2010 05:36174970
Wahhabis not exist in Turkey at all [92 words]M A KavukluogluJun 17, 2010 13:55174500
To M A Kavukluoglu [50 words]Germain LucasJun 18, 2010 11:50174500
1It's all about feeding the crocodile hoping to be eaten the last! [391 words]Germain LucasJun 14, 2010 16:51174410
Turkey Only Misplaced - It Never Lost Its Islamicism [593 words]M. ToveyJun 14, 2010 15:48174409
rise of fundamentalism [29 words]Mary SeayJun 13, 2010 20:53174373
1The rise of Islamo-Kemalism [1051 words]IanusJun 14, 2010 15:18174373
Specifically: Once religion integrates into politics, there will be still be more splinter parties within secularists and less under the ultimate unifier, Islam [389 words]LazmanJun 13, 2010 18:38174372
Broadly: After 7 centuries of Ottoman Empire and 36 Sultans/Caliph, many reforms are needed to alter the mentality that worships power [205 words]LazmanJun 13, 2010 18:02174368
1west never looks its own policies towards muslims .. [134 words]syed aliJun 15, 2010 07:47174368
1Muslims? [200 words]trans-parereJul 28, 2010 10:17174368
You Are More Likely Correct [62 words]Mark D.Jun 13, 2010 15:13174364
Blame Cast Lead [43 words]Chun Doo HwanJun 13, 2010 06:35174342
1The bombed synagogues of Istanbul [71 words]IanusJun 16, 2010 18:16174342
Historical Trend [229 words]VijayJun 13, 2010 05:33174336
1it is islam that did it [138 words]Phil GreendJun 12, 2010 22:26174318
Turkey [49 words]FrancisJun 12, 2010 14:43174303
another explanation: secular recoil [214 words]mythJun 12, 2010 09:54174290
Islam Played What Role? [60 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Mark D.Jun 11, 2010 22:56174268
Islamization of Turkey [40 words]G. RinzlerJun 11, 2010 16:58174250
Where did you get this info from? [19 words]AsenaJun 12, 2010 04:45174250
Time to bring back a Modern Turkey/Turkiye [98 words]kamil suJun 13, 2010 02:57174250
1Saudi gold for Turkey [748 words]IanusJun 13, 2010 08:24174250
Israel lost Turkey - the world still has it. [214 words]Ghulam Muhammed, MumbaiJun 11, 2010 09:55174228
2Turkey changes direction in the last 30 years [266 words]Ognyan MinchevJun 11, 2010 08:55174225
1Turkish history-writing [173 words]G.VishvasJun 11, 2010 08:33174221
1WESTERN FOLLY [83 words]tyroneezJan 15, 2012 23:32174221
Is Turkey an Isolated Case? [62 words]Gamaliel IsaacJun 11, 2010 07:28174219
who makes the Turkish military? [74 words]AseanJun 12, 2010 05:00174219
1THE ATATURK REVOLUTION HAS FAILED [157 words]shimon mendesJun 11, 2010 04:41174208
Nope, it just was discontinued [153 words]Alain Jean-MairetJun 12, 2010 01:24174208
Good Morning [46 words]AsenaJun 12, 2010 04:53174208
1HISTORY PROVED THAT LEOPARD CANNOT CHANGE HIS SPOTS [259 words]shimon mendesJun 13, 2010 10:50174208
IT WAS THE TURKISH PEOPLE MISFORTUNE [51 words]shimon mendesJun 13, 2010 11:07174208
Turks actually don't need such leaders anymore [95 words]Alain Jean-MairetJun 14, 2010 03:30174208
You are right [126 words]katieJul 15, 2010 02:12174208
But are islamists in power that bad, after all? [116 words]Alain Jean-MairetJun 11, 2010 04:24174207
So They Focus So Much More Now In Islam [65 words]Mark D.Jun 11, 2010 23:42174207
TURKEY IN THE RACE OF BEING THE NEXT PAKISTAN [64 words]F60Jun 11, 2010 02:51174205
I go with door #2 [227 words]NOproblemJun 11, 2010 02:47174204
1The case of Turkey [96 words]Janusz KowalikJun 10, 2010 20:23174195
Who lost Turkey [122 words]Nenette GrunbergJun 10, 2010 20:21174194
Anatoly's Two Cents on Anatolia [477 words]Anatoly TsaliovichJun 10, 2010 19:56174193
Wrong [161 words]AsenaJun 12, 2010 05:16174193
Asena should pay more attention to facts and put them in context [275 words]Anatoly TsaliovichJun 13, 2010 02:15174193
almost an explanation [66 words]mythJun 10, 2010 19:15174189
The West is to Blame [596 words]HistoryscoperJun 10, 2010 18:55174187
Turks lost the Turkey that Ataturk intended it to be. [19 words]M.D.Jun 10, 2010 18:42174186
The Threat of Islam [47 words]Mark D.Jun 11, 2010 23:11174186
Let's not forget what the turks did to Europe for 500 years ...... [290 words]RNDJun 10, 2010 18:34174183
Let's not forget what the turks did to Europe for 500 years ...... [202 words]RNDJun 10, 2010 18:23174182
total fraction of lost votes is almost 50% [121 words]mythJun 10, 2010 18:19174180
Two thoughts [58 words]DianeJun 10, 2010 17:15174176
Islam Played a Role To What Degree? [68 words]Mark D.Jun 11, 2010 23:04174176

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