FARUK LOGOGLU, FORMER TURKISH AMB. TO THE US. “ IS THE WEST IN SLUMBER OR BLUNDER?”
Looking at Turkey – is the West in slumber or in blunder?
FARUK LOĞOĞLU
www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=looking-at-turkey-8211-is-the-west-in-slumber-or-in-blunder-2010-09-22
The result of the Sept. 12 referendum marks yet another critical turning point for Turkey. The singular intent of the referendum was to establish political control over the judicial branch of government. The other articles in the package, however positive they might have been on their individual merits, were mere embellishments.
The “yes” outcome, once the constitutional amendments take effect, thus paves the way for the excessive concentration of power in the executive branch, essentially doing away with the separation of powers. The executive would now reign supreme. Consequently, depending on what the governing Justice and Development Party, or AKP, does with its newly expanded political space, the nature of democracy in Turkey might soon change radically.
The course the AKP is likely to follow should be consistent with its Islamist ideological outlook and with its policies since it came to power in 2002. In that case, Turkey is looking at a new phase in its political development where the government will exercise power with the support of a plurality of the country’s population, with impunity, and once the constitutional amendments are in force, without checks or accountability.
The AKP leadership feels so emboldened with the results of the referendum that it has already pushed the button to move toward a presidential system. The country is entering uncharted territory where institutional and cultural underpinnings of democracy might no longer apply. It would be a regime still claimed to be a democracy, but bearing little resemblance in substance to it. A regime not resting on the rule of secular law, separation of powers and accountability cannot be democratic. Enjoying a plurality of popular votes is a necessary, but not a sufficient condition of democracy.
These potential prospects are ominous enough. However, why the Turkish public voted the way it did and what the AKP deployed to insure its victory at the polls is not the subject of this article. The subject here is the nearly uniform support and praise the AKP is getting from Europe and the United States after the referendum. Political quarters in the West are buying almost wholesale the AKP sales job that the reform package makes Turkey more democratic. Even President Barack Obama, who is unhappy with Turkey over Iran and Israel, joined EU circles in applauding the AKP. Western capitals actually failing to see the transformation of Turkey under the AKP into a society increasingly governed by the rules and precepts of religion is a proposition difficult to accept. Washington knows that Turkish democracy is slipping and that Turkey’s foreign policy is shifting its focus away from the Euro-Atlantic community. On the other hand, Europe believes that what matters is not what happens in Turkey so long as the government there acts in consonance with European interests. Europeans follow Turkish developments more closely than Americans do, so they know what the score is. The West, therefore, understands where Turkey is headed. What the West does not understand are the consequences and implications of a Turkey driven by a religionist outlook.
The current Western attitude toward Turkey is one of opportunistic and calibrated indifference. The present priority of Western leaders is to maintain sufficiently good relations with the AKP to reap the benefits of Turkey’s cooperation and capabilities. They care for Turkey not for Turkey’s sake, but for their own immediate satisfaction. However, beyond the short run, this shortsighted selfishness is likely to turn out to be a costly blunder on the part of Western powers.
If present trends in Turkey persist unchanged, we are likely to see a hastily implanted presidential system alien to and incompatible with our political and cultural traditions. The AKP probably contemplates the new constitution as a tool to facilitate the institution of the new Presidency. That president would have virtually unlimited powers. If the president were – as is likely to be the case – from among AKP leaders, he would want to reshape the country according to his worldview, i.e., Islamist ideology.
A non-secular, para-democratic Turkey would change power configurations, especially in the Middle East. Turkey, increasingly distancing itself from Europe, even questioning the usefulness of NATO and having trouble in its relations with the U.S., might further identify itself with Russia, Iran and Muslim countries. It would also mean the failure of democracy in a Muslim setting. A non-secular Turkey could no longer play the role of the advocate in the “Alliance of Civilizations” initiative. Turkey in the Islamic fold could exacerbate tensions with the non-Muslim world. A security provider, a stability promoter, a model for secular democracy that Turkey has been might cease to be.
Turkey’s allies and partners should take such potentialities and their implications seriously. Helping Turkey to sustain its secular democracy and insisting on the preservation of the basics (the rule of law, separation of powers, human rights, basic freedoms, gender equality…) of democracy would only enhance their own security and prosperity at home and improve the quality of global relations.
It is time for the U.S. and European powers to act in terms of what they really know and think about Turkey. Expediency on the part of the West is not a wise policy. The Turkish public is highly suspicious about Western motives regarding Turkey, mostly fearing that the West wants to weaken and divide Turkey. Hence, if our friends and allies in the West believe these fears are misguided and that they really want to see Turkey in the family of Euro-Atlantic nations, they must demonstrate it with their actions and policies. Applauding the ruling AK Party in Turkey and blessing its moves are not enough to help Turkish democracy. The West must do more and better.
*O. Faruk Loğoğlu, a retired diplomat, is Turkey’s former ambassador to the United States.
© 2009 Hurriyet Daily News
URL: www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=looking-at-turkey-8211-is-the-west-in-slumber-or-in-blunder-2010-09-22
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