Written by Devansh Agarwal
Recep Tayyip Erdogan is one of the most revolutionary politicians Turkey has ever seen- whether “revolutionary” implies a positive or a negative change, in this case, depends on the observer. Followed as well as detested by many in his own country and in the world, Erdogan has persistently been a contentious figure in modern geopolitics.
Turkey: a political background
Turkey had been a pivotal player in the geopolitics of both Middle East and Europe. The transcontinental country is famously recognized as the heir of Ottoman Empire, upon the disintegration of which the politicians of the country had the onus of organizing the unstable country recovering from the wounds of disintegration. Turkey, however, recovered resplendently from such challenging conditions and drafted policies that became the inspiration for many other Islamic countries. These policies largely came from one of the most benevolent dictators of our times, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. His policies, famous for their convincing emphasis on rights for women, liberal rules, and regulations, are the very ones that helped Turkey establish itself as a modern country instead of an ultra-conservative one.
The most remarkable of these policies is the one that calls for secularism in Turkey. Unlike most Islamic nations, where the basic rights to women are withheld and the religion is involved in every setting of their politics, Turkey calls itself a secular nation in which the government will have no relation or bias for any religion. These are the policies by Ataturk which lead Turkey to the path of success and reforms, and because of these policies, Turkey can easily be distinguished by most of the Islamic nations whose conservative mindsets and lack of receptiveness keeps somewhat detached from the world.
Erdogan’s early Life and Political Career
Erdogan hailed from a very poor family, sustaining himself off 2.5 liras per week, and earning money through menial tasks such as reselling plastic. His political career started when he joined the National Turkish Student Union, an anti-communist group, in which he was praised and received commendations for his oratory skills. The first significant post that he held was the Mayor of Istanbul. His Mayorship was famous because of the pragmatic and concerted steps he took which revolutionized Istanbul. He done the arduous work of solving the basic problems of people of Istanbul, water shortage, proper drainage, traffic, pollution, etc., and changed the face of Istanbul.
Despite these positive developments, Erdogan’s views as an Islamic fundamentalist generated widespread apprehension as Turkey’s secular principles came under threat. A controversial poem recitation by him in 1997, reading, “the mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers...” invited governmental unease. Erdogan was arrested for this recitation and had to denounce his position as Mayor. In 1998, the fundamentalist Welfare Party, of which Erdogan was part, itself was banned on the grounds of threatening the secularism of Turkey. After realizing that a fundamentalist Islamic party cannot cater to their dreams of ruling Ankara, Erdogan and his aide Abdullah Gul formed a new party and named it Justice and Development Party (AKP). Their quest finally succeeded and AKP won the election with 34% of votes. Erdogan was made Prime Minister in 2003.
Still, many factions in Turkey viewed Erdogan as someone who will disparage their glorious and serene values and traditions through which helped Turkey in building their stature around the world as a modern country and not a fundamentalist one. In 2007, an estimated 300,000 people marched in Ankara to protest against the possible candidacy of Erdogan in the 2007 presidential election, afraid that if elected as president, he would alter the secular nature of the Turkish state. Due to the protests, Erdogan’s party, many times, came close to be declared unconstitutional, but every time it escaped, and Erdogan continued being the Prime Minister till 2014. The protests heightened when a corruption probe came to light in December 2013 in which many dignitaries of Erdogan’s inner circle were involved. Erdogan, to save himself and his people, suspended 350 police offices during the investigations. The nation continued with interim candidates from AKP and Erdogan was made President in 2014. In 2016, a coup was attempted by a military faction, but was unsuccessful. This gave Erdogan a ground to return because of his pervious, relatively stable. In 2017, Erdogan’s party amended the constitution that provided absolute powers to the President. The Parliamentary system was subsequently abolished. Media reported that the referendum, though opposed by large groups of people, was passed by 51% in favor of the referendum. The President’s powers then included: 1. Directly appointing top public officials, including ministers and vice-presidents. 2. The power to intervene in the country's legal system. 3. The power to impose a state of emergency.
Clampdown on Liberalism
A popular quote by John Acton reads, “power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. The line is sufficient to define the fate of Turkey, which now seems to be the antithesis of what was envisioned by Kemal Ataturk. Veering away from liberal principles, Turkey is now moving towards a reign which has instigated far-right conservative principles in its people. He has extolled motherhood, condemned feminists, and said men and women cannot be treated equally. [1] Turkey is now among the lowest-ranking countries for free media due to its high censorship. Multiple reports claim that the judicial system is also crippled by power politics.
The liberal attitude of Turks has been shattered and citizens want to reinstate the rule of Caliphate. Conservatives in Turkey want the might of Ottoman Empire restored and envision their country as a pioneer amongst Islamic states. Erdogan recently converted Hagia Sophia museum, which had been a site revered by both Christian and Muslims, into a mosque. Opposition figures such as Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu say Erdogan is using the Hagia Sophia controversy to distract from missteps by his government, from the management of the economy to the handling of the coronavirus crisis. However, the conversion is consistent with the President’s lifelong political goal: the reassertion of Turkey’s Muslim identity, and its corollary, the rejection of the secular nationalism of the country’s modern founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.[2]
The opinions expressed and suggestions made in the article belong solely to the author themselves. Diplomania and O.P. Jindal Global University do not endorse the same.
[1] Recep Tayyip Erdogan: Turkey's pugnacious president, BBC News, Recep Tayyip Erdogan: Turkey's pugnacious president - BBC News [2] Erdogan Is Erasing Ataturk’s Stamp On Turkey, BNN Bloomberg Erdogan Is Erasing Ataturk’s Stamp On Turkey - BNN Bloomberg
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