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The Daily Star, Lebanon
Dec 5 2009
Turkey, the Mideast's only real country
By Rami G. Khouri
Daily Star staff
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Every time I visit Turkey I ask myself what it is that makes me marvel
at the many political and economic developments that make the country
stand out as the most impressive in the greater Middle East. Watching
Turkey's significant foreign policy initiatives these days to cement
good relations with its neighbors, I think I understand why: This is
the only country in the Middle East region that acts like a normal,
mature country.
Turkey's mix of lively domestic politics, a dynamic social and
cultural life, and a strong and internationally expanding eco - nomy all
come together through the agency of a government that actually leads
by taking initiatives, but is also held accountable to the citizens
through regular polls. Turkey is the only country in the Mideast with
both a democratic domestic system and an activist foreign policy. It
is refreshing to witness this phenomenon in contrast with the largely
passive and often dysfunctional countries across the region.
The critical elements in Turkey's success that others might learn from
strike me as three in particular: freedom of speech and association
that allow domestic politics to proceed in the direction defined by a
majority of the citizenry; civilian authority over the armed forces
and security agencies; and, pragmatic, humble realism in coming to
terms with the realities of a pluralistic society where minorities
demand rights that the majority should acknowledge.
Take some of this month's leading stories, for example. An ongoing
investigation is looking into accusations that a group of armed
services senior officers plotted to overthrow the ruling government by
creating chaos in civil society. The media is covering daily the
questioning of the former officers.
Domestically, the political scene and its links to ethnic pluralism
remain vibrant, making Turkey one of the rare places in the region
where it is not possible to predict the outcome of the next polls.
Unlike the recent past when only the secular, nationalist Turkish
identity was allowed to manifest itself, today the country more
honestly addresses the reality of and the demand for equal rights and
opportunities by Turkish Kurds, Alawis and others.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan has made significant overtures to the large Kurdish
minority. Whether or not this approach works will be determined
ultimately by the citizens, who sent a message in the local elections
earlier this year that they were not fully satisfied. There was a
decline in votes for the AKP and the number of municipalities it won,
reminding us that in a truly democratic system the party in power must
constantly respond to citizens' needs and expectations ` or lose
power.
Turkey no longer attempts the childish sloganeering that Arab ruling
elites often use to try and depict all their citizens with a single
phrase that is more about forced compliance with regime dictates than
it is about responding to citizen rights. The healthy slippage the AKP
experienced in the polls confirms that Turkey is ruled by popular
will, rather than autocratic orders from a small band of rulers at the
top. Erdogan and the AKP will now have to reconsider their
unsuccessful strategy of appealing to nationalists, Kurds and the mild
Islamists who comprise the AKP's base.
How refreshing to see a ruling party in a large Middle Eastern country
having to adjust its policies and rhetoric in response to citizen
votes!
Regionally, Turkey is also showing everyone else in the region how to
do foreign policy in a sensible way, by acknowledging realities (for
example, Kurdish autonomy in northern Iraq) and promoting stable
political relations on the back of growing economic ties.
As Soli Ozel, a professor of international relations at Istanbul Bilgi
University and a columnist for the daily Haberturk, explained to me,
Turkey in the past decade has taken advantage of developments
initiated by others (the war in Iraq, Arab-Israeli stalemates) to
reposition itself throughout the region, while it simultaneously kept
exploring stronger links with Europe. Once strained relations with
Syria, Iraq, Greece, Armenia, Iran and others slowly improved, often
hastened by mutual interests in the spheres of trade, water, energy
and security. This was a policy `based on the principle of zero
problems with the neighbors, designed to create zones of stability
around the country, avoid confrontation and prepare the conditions for
economic expansion,' Ozel noted.
This required comprehensive peace in the region, which Turkey has
sought to advance by mediating and engaging where it could. Meanwhile,
Israel `appeared incapable of changing its ways and seriously trying
for a peaceful resolution of its conflict with the Palestinians,' Ozel
added. The current cool relations between Turkey and Israel will
return to normal soon, but in a context in which Turkey has strong,
constructive ties with all other players in the region ` a sound
strategy that no other major power seems to have attempted.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.as p?edition_id=1&categ_id=5&article_id=10942 7
Dec 5 2009
Turkey, the Mideast's only real country
By Rami G. Khouri
Daily Star staff
Saturday, December 05, 2009
Every time I visit Turkey I ask myself what it is that makes me marvel
at the many political and economic developments that make the country
stand out as the most impressive in the greater Middle East. Watching
Turkey's significant foreign policy initiatives these days to cement
good relations with its neighbors, I think I understand why: This is
the only country in the Middle East region that acts like a normal,
mature country.
Turkey's mix of lively domestic politics, a dynamic social and
cultural life, and a strong and internationally expanding eco - nomy all
come together through the agency of a government that actually leads
by taking initiatives, but is also held accountable to the citizens
through regular polls. Turkey is the only country in the Mideast with
both a democratic domestic system and an activist foreign policy. It
is refreshing to witness this phenomenon in contrast with the largely
passive and often dysfunctional countries across the region.
The critical elements in Turkey's success that others might learn from
strike me as three in particular: freedom of speech and association
that allow domestic politics to proceed in the direction defined by a
majority of the citizenry; civilian authority over the armed forces
and security agencies; and, pragmatic, humble realism in coming to
terms with the realities of a pluralistic society where minorities
demand rights that the majority should acknowledge.
Take some of this month's leading stories, for example. An ongoing
investigation is looking into accusations that a group of armed
services senior officers plotted to overthrow the ruling government by
creating chaos in civil society. The media is covering daily the
questioning of the former officers.
Domestically, the political scene and its links to ethnic pluralism
remain vibrant, making Turkey one of the rare places in the region
where it is not possible to predict the outcome of the next polls.
Unlike the recent past when only the secular, nationalist Turkish
identity was allowed to manifest itself, today the country more
honestly addresses the reality of and the demand for equal rights and
opportunities by Turkish Kurds, Alawis and others.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) of Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan has made significant overtures to the large Kurdish
minority. Whether or not this approach works will be determined
ultimately by the citizens, who sent a message in the local elections
earlier this year that they were not fully satisfied. There was a
decline in votes for the AKP and the number of municipalities it won,
reminding us that in a truly democratic system the party in power must
constantly respond to citizens' needs and expectations ` or lose
power.
Turkey no longer attempts the childish sloganeering that Arab ruling
elites often use to try and depict all their citizens with a single
phrase that is more about forced compliance with regime dictates than
it is about responding to citizen rights. The healthy slippage the AKP
experienced in the polls confirms that Turkey is ruled by popular
will, rather than autocratic orders from a small band of rulers at the
top. Erdogan and the AKP will now have to reconsider their
unsuccessful strategy of appealing to nationalists, Kurds and the mild
Islamists who comprise the AKP's base.
How refreshing to see a ruling party in a large Middle Eastern country
having to adjust its policies and rhetoric in response to citizen
votes!
Regionally, Turkey is also showing everyone else in the region how to
do foreign policy in a sensible way, by acknowledging realities (for
example, Kurdish autonomy in northern Iraq) and promoting stable
political relations on the back of growing economic ties.
As Soli Ozel, a professor of international relations at Istanbul Bilgi
University and a columnist for the daily Haberturk, explained to me,
Turkey in the past decade has taken advantage of developments
initiated by others (the war in Iraq, Arab-Israeli stalemates) to
reposition itself throughout the region, while it simultaneously kept
exploring stronger links with Europe. Once strained relations with
Syria, Iraq, Greece, Armenia, Iran and others slowly improved, often
hastened by mutual interests in the spheres of trade, water, energy
and security. This was a policy `based on the principle of zero
problems with the neighbors, designed to create zones of stability
around the country, avoid confrontation and prepare the conditions for
economic expansion,' Ozel noted.
This required comprehensive peace in the region, which Turkey has
sought to advance by mediating and engaging where it could. Meanwhile,
Israel `appeared incapable of changing its ways and seriously trying
for a peaceful resolution of its conflict with the Palestinians,' Ozel
added. The current cool relations between Turkey and Israel will
return to normal soon, but in a context in which Turkey has strong,
constructive ties with all other players in the region ` a sound
strategy that no other major power seems to have attempted.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.as p?edition_id=1&categ_id=5&article_id=10942 7