S e t a 1 y ı l l ı ğ ı

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m o d e l   m i   e s i n   k a y n a ğ ı   m ı ?

and it shows the efforts of a predominantly 

Muslim country to integrate with the world and

especially the EU. In other words, it shows that

the basis of the political structure is not shaped 

according to religious beliefs and values but 

rather according to concepts like democracy, 

human  rights,  expansion  of  civilian  control,

transparency,  and  accountability.  It  is  natural

for this success story to serve as inspiration for 

the  Muslim  world.  However,  Turkey  needs  to

accelerate efforts to make further progress -- in 

other words to improve the rule of law and de-

mocracy. It will be a new Turkey that will serve

as inspiration for the Muslim world and set an

example.

An example-setting New Turkey

Turkey has not been able to fully resolve its 

problems and confront its history. For example

it has yet to resolve problems that disrupt the 

status quo such as religious freedom and the 

Kurdish issue. But with the transition to multi-

party system, a process of normalization began. 

This process was occasionally stopped due to 

military  interventions.  Important  steps  were

taken to address these problems. The political 

institution sometimes undertook seri-

ous endeavors to address 

them and other times 

turned a blind eye. We 

can say that it is relatively 

easier for Turkey, com-

pared  to  other  Muslim

countries, to confront its 

problems. That is because 

in Turkey social demands 

are represented in politics. 

In countries where public

participation in political 

affairs is limited and where 

the public will is not suffi-

ciently represented in par-

liament, it becomes more 

painstaking and quite diffi-

cult to face and settle prob-

lems regarding issues like 

religion and democracy, 

religion and secularism and 

religious freedoms.

In  Turkey,  there  is  still  a

struggle going on between 

those who support the status 

quo and those who support 

change. On the one hand, there is a political at-

titude that is inclined to rely on military inter-

ventions, and even criticizes the army for not 

intervening in politics, and on the other hand 

a political mentality that, in contrast to the sin-

gle-party period’s aim of creating a static politi-

cal system, wants to establish a pluralistic legal 

and democratic system that is void of tutelage. 

The experience that holds meaning for both the

Muslim world and the West is not the single-

party period and the period in which coups and 

tutelage were defended, but the New Turkey ex-

perience that began during Özal’s administra-

tion and became more pronounced after 2002.

It isn’t a state-centric Turkey that is interested

in maintaining the single-party era ideology 

that  influences  the  Muslim  world;  rather,  it  is

the New Turkey, which can bravely confront its

problems, tackle long-standing problems, listen 

to the public will, respect beliefs and values and 

does not see demands for democracy as a threat.

Today’s Zaman, February 28, 2011

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Returning  to  Tunisia  after  20  years  in  exile,

the opposition leader Ghannouchi said Turkey 

provided political inspiration. “The best model 

I can think of is the one adopted by the AKP

[Justice  and  Development  Party]  in  Turkey,”

he told reporters. It was an affirmation of what

many already knew: the Turkish prime minister 

Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his party have ex-

erted considerable influence on recent events 

that have rocked the Arab and Muslim world.

From Twitter to WikiLeaks and Facebook to Al

Jazeera,  many  social  media  phenomena  have

been credited for what has happened in Tunisia 

and Egypt. Yet the impact of Turkey’s recent ac-

tions has not been adequately addressed in the 

context of the recent demonstrations. In large

part, Mr Erdogan and his party have heralded

a new political horizon for the people of the 

Middle East.

Distancing itself from George W Bush’s “free-

dom agenda” while still maintaining good rela-

tions with the West, Turkey has been redefin-

ing its domestic politics and regional role for 

almost a decade. As a result, Turkey has man-

aged to remain democratic, maintain a strong 

economy,  continue  outspoken  criticism  of  Is-

rael and, most importantly, reconcile politics 

with  its  status  as  a  Muslim-majority  country.

This model has inspired people across the Mid-

dle East and helped to prepare the ground for 

the chain of popular reactions in recent weeks.

Let’s get the record straight: demands for better

governance and a better life have been voiced 

in the Arab world for a long time, albeit in a 

fragmented fashion. The “Erdogan effect” does 

not mean that the AKP is the source of these

demands. However, the articulation has never 

been in the language of democracy and free 

elections, concepts that have often been identi-

fied as synonymous with occupation, grief, vio-

lence and poverty. That democracy is now part 

of the demands for good governance shows 

that many are looking at Turkey’s example. This

transition has been made possible by two risky 

decisions made in Ankara in recent years: first, 

the  rejection  of  the  US  army’s  request  to  use

SETA YORUM

Change in Turkey Has Shown 

Another Way For Middle East 

Distancing itself from George W Bush’s “freedom agenda” while still maintaining 

good relations with the West, Turkey has been redefining its domestic politics and 

regional role for almost a decade.

NUH YILMAZ

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