Turkish nationalism and Islamism

Submitted by Khachkarian (United States), Oct 16, 2012 at 20:58

It is interesting to read an analysis that addresses both neo-Ottomanism and economic crisis.

Until the current tensions between Turkey and Syria, Ankara's policy of aggressively pursuing greater regional influence was palpable, but still peaceful. Now, if Turkey's economy takes a nosedive (as some predict) due to an inability to conceal financial insolvency by maintaining banking-sector opacity (i.e., cooking the books), then the military adventurist option becomes a real possibility. The situation would be roughly analogous to the rise of fascism in Europe on the heels of economic crisis. Erdoğan could use a military campaign in Syria to rally the country around the AKP, exploiting traditional popular reverence for the armed forces as an institution in Turkey.

In a sense, the AKP is just a "blossoming" of the hitherto obscure reality that Islam was always an integral part of Turkish nationalism. The Islamist ruling party is not a contravention of Turkish nationalism. It is Turkish nationalism's natural consequence.

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