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They
argue that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan views himself as an
Ottoman sultan and is consolidating his rule by clearing the public
sphere of military domination. This approach and discourse further argues
that Turkey had been moving towards a dictatorship rather than a state
ruled by Shariah law. However, the irrelevance of this discourse to the
reality of the situation has limited its influence and impact.
During
this process of reform, the AK Party government’s foreign policy has
significant changed. The party has pursued a policy that promotes regional
and global peace and sides with common people and justice in cases of
conflicts. Those who failed to perceive this social influence behind the
AK Party and instead see foreign policy as a power struggle have become
concerned about the government’s approach. They argue that these tactics
represent a neo-Ottomanist strategy and that Turkey is seeking to
establish some sort of guardianship in the region.
The
government reacted strongly to this assessment. Most recently, Foreign
Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said: “The notion of neo-Ottomanism is not
innocent; they have deliberately used this term in an attempt to reduce
our influence in the Balkans and to intimidate people.” Davutoğlu is
right. Neo-Conservatives rely on distracting other nations in this way.
Still, it is impossible to deny that Turkish foreign policy is adopting a
globalist approach by distancing itself from the classical style of a
republican regime.
If
anyone expects Turkey to act like a classic nation-state, they need to
realize that this will not happen and that Turkish foreign policy design
will be generated out of a neo-Ottomanist style. Davutoğlu does not want
to call it neo-Ottomanism because he relies on a stance compatible with
the democratic and moral values of the current global world rather than
the Ottoman state. The reference to Ottomanism is actually attributable
to the current government’s decisiveness over distancing itself from the
style of foreign policy followed by a Kemalist regime.
However,
the application of neo-Ottomanism does not end there. This notion is
fairly compatible and consistent with the point of view held, for
instance, by Anatolian businessmen, Islamic foundations, human rights
associations and conservative generations. In other words, neo-Ottomanism
is a fairly useful term in identifying the state of mind of Turkish
society as well as Turkish foreign policy because there is a large group
of people who are greatly confident, eager to make the land beyond
Turkey’s geographical boundaries important in their individual lives,
ambitious to learn about history and ready to take a conscious look at
social issues. This sociological synthesis behind the AK Party seems
eager to overcome the restrictions implied by a republican regime. This
requires a merger of authentic, traditional references with the universal
approach of the current age. This universal point of view was introduced
to Turkey through the EU’s membership criteria. However, the republican
regime had left nothing in terms of traditional references outside of
religion because as a shallow ideology, Kemalism has never really gained
significance in society. However, religion does not provide an adequate
ground on which to identify rights and freedoms. In addition, any
religious interpretation cannot possibly embrace a pluralist structure as
exists in Turkish society.
Turkey,
however, in opening up to the world, relies on a tradition that
encompassed the world in the past. In other words, the citizens of Turkey
base their acts on an historical legacy, as if they were once citizens of
the world. The AK Party has played a role that emphasizes this legacy.
These “new” religious people of Turkey have transcended the legacy of the
republican era through this government, resulting in a globalized point
of view, which could be called neo-Ottomanism, being brought into their
lives.
This
refers to a sort of cosmopolitanism. The Ottoman legacy implies not only
a desire for playing a primary role in world politics but also an
approach that emphasizes the Islamic identity while still recognizing
identities as well. In the end, the exclusive use of an Islamic identity
is still an issue. However, it is also hugely important that pluralism is
now considered by Turkish society to be something valuable and special
after all these years.
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