Erdogan and Turkey’s Quest for Neo-Ottoman Empire

 

Sakshi Gemini and Gazi Hassan

“We will never bow to banditry on our continental shelf, nor will we pull back in the face of sanctions and threats,” said Recep Tayyip Erdogan once while talking about his country. Erdogan, a Turkish politician serving as the current President of Turkey, has also served as Prime Minister of Turkey from 2003 to 2014 and Mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998. In 1998, he was sentenced to 10 months in prison for instigating hatred and bigotry, after reading out verses of Ottoman Islamist Poet at a public event. After this event, the constitutional court of the country suspended his Welfare Party on the grounds that it was “threatening Turkey’s Kemalist existence”, especially targeting its secularity. The Kemalist nature of Turkey includes forming a new state with relatively stable foundations, being perpetually cautious against enemies inside and outside. Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (the founding father of the Republic of Turkey) with his party support — aiming for an ideal nation — used to “other” the Ottomans to construct a new state and nation; but what is happening now is quite the contrary.

When Erdogan came out of jail, he formed the Justice and Development Party (AKP) by mobilising Islamic conservative supporters. Now, he is in a seat to dismantle the same Kemalist structure which, less than two decades ago, coerced him to resign as Mayor of Istanbul. It all started in Ankara where Erdogan rose to power and the local success was gradually converted into national political success, which can be seen as AKP being in a dominant role for years.

Erdogan’s rise can also be assessed with a new referendum that changed some of the important events in modern Turkey’s history. This included change of the existing parliamentary system to an executive presidency. Some other milestones achieved after the passage of this referendum include abolishment of the post of Prime Minister. The new President would now have the right to elect more than half of the representatives of the highest judicial body of the country, to dissolve the national assembly, to enforce a state of emergency and rule through mandate. The reforms would also guarantee two five-year terms for the President. The referendum gives immense power to the presidential candidate which could see Erdogan rule Turkey till 2029 with expansive powers enjoyed once by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. All these changes in the Constitution raise the question of whether Turkish President Erdogan is assuming the role of dictator.

Supporters of the President believe these changes were necessary for a more united Turkey and stable government. The referendum was put forward during a time when Turkey was facing security challenges, multiple terror attacks were being reported, strained relationships and constant fighting with Kurds. Turkish army waged a brutal war against the Kurdistan Workers Party in the southeast part of the nation; this explains why Turkey fought with Kurds in Syria who were fighting against ISIS. Erdogan believed that a strong leadership can only deal with challenges and the insecurity rising among the Turks. The decision to implement new constitutional laws also engages Opposition claiming it as a step towards dictatorship. With the passage of the referendum, Erdogan can now change the trajectory of Turkish politics. But there also exists an identity of “Turks” within the society who sought themselves as liberal and modern. Hence, infusing the concept of Islamic ideologies into every citizen will be difficult even if he implements it with the enormous power provided to him.

Erdogan is considered to be an important global figure. He not only wants to exert his prominence within Turkey but also the outside world. Turkey’s image, many argue, is shaped as a protector of the oppressed people. Erdogan has been vocal about injustice done by the Hindutva forces on Muslims in India, of Kurds in Syria, Palestinian people and Yemini children. All these issues raised by Erdogan show that Turkey is an international player and determined in conducting comprehensive operations against terrorist organisations. Turkey now manufactures military equipment like tanks, artillery, vessels, aerial vehicles and also exports these to friendly countries to assist them in fighting terrorist organisations.

Tukey witnessed strained relations with the EU because of Erdogan’s silencing dissent, which explains their frosty relations. Erdogan in his public speeches supported secularism and refuted his image of imposing Muslim values, but the introduction of “alcohol-free zones” in parts of the country shows his intention of gradually implementing Islamic values.

On the economy front, under Erdogan, Turkey is doing relatively better with an annual growth rate of 4.5 per cent; it is becoming a manufacturing and export powerhouse. To improve relations with the EU, the party worked cohesively and passed reforms to harmonise the justice system and human rights aligning with European requirements. The country has launched infrastructure movements across the nation to attract investment. On papers, Turkey sought to address the issues faced by Kurds and non-Muslims. While one can see Erdogan’s role as a dictator, his strong personality and ability to implement reforms and to have friendly relations with neighbours present a much stronger image of Turkey to the outside world and has garnered him a huge following base. His ideology takes turns with every challenge that he confronts with. For Turkey to stand strong in front of the world and to make allies, it has to reform its policies. All these factors make Erdogan a baffling politician Turkey has ever seen.

On the foreign policy front, Turkey’s relations with India are strained after its support to Pakistan and raising concerns of the people of Kashmir. Erdogan backs Syrian opposition groups fighting against the Bashar al-Assad government. Turkey has also strained its relations with the US when it attacked Kurds whom the US is supporting as they are the forerunners in the fight against ISIS. Turkey openly supports Azerbaijan as opposed to Armenia, and rising tensions in the Mediterranean over oil and sea have brought Turkey on brink of the war with Greece.

The various developments happening in Turkey point to the fact that an ambitious Erdogan is trying to review the lost glory of the Ottoman Empire. The manner in which it is done clearly corresponds to the fact that a new Muslim power block is in making which will replace the Saudi dominated Muslim world. The change in the power equations, alliances and involvement in the major conflicts in the Middle East are the defining features of Erdogan-led Turkey. Thus, an already existing power struggle between Iran and Saudi in the Middle East is witnessing the rise of a new power on its horizon. Turkey along with countries such as Iran, Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia is also building a coalition, a power block, aimed at countering Islamophobia around the world. Erdogan is gaining more and more acceptance across the Muslim world. All these along with the voices of concerns for Muslims in distress across the globe will have a profound impact on the way Turkey is being looked at in the Muslim world.     

Sakshi Gemini, Research Intern and Gazi Hassan, Senior Research Associate at CPPR. Views expressed by the author are personal and need not reflect or represent the views of Centre for Public Policy Research.

Featured Image Source: The Cairo Review