Should Turks come from Mars or Venus?

by Kemal Kirisci

The terrorist attacks of 9/11 and the United States' intervention in Iraq in 2003, not to mention the decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict, continue to maintain the image of the Middle East as a major threat to regional and world stability and security. This situation has led to increased calls for Middle Eastern "regime change." There is a general belief, especially among Americans, that democratization in the Middle East could actually alleviate the sources of conflict. The now defunct Israeli-Palestinian peace project was very much based on the premise that a democratic Palestinian entity would help to consolidate the peace between the two sides and also help to achieve peace in the region.

In line with this thinking, the advocates and authors of the US intervention in Iraq did try partially to legitimize the intervention on the grounds of democratization of Iraq. Subsequently, the US administration advocated a grand policy of promoting democracy and good governance for the greater Middle East. However, these developments do not hide the fact that the current US administration prefers to use "hard power" to achieve these goals.

The European Union has been drawn into these efforts too, especially through the process of enlargement in the case of Greece, Spain, and Portugal and more recently with the new accession countries. The EU is actively involved through various programs and policies in state building and democracy promotion in the Balkans, too. More recently, the "Wider Europe" policy, launched in March 2003 by the commission, aspires to a similar role in the part of Europe east of the new accession countries, as well as in the Middle East. The European Council at the end of March 2004 even went so far as to declare an "EU strategic partnership with the Mediterranean and the Middle East." Undoubtedly, democratization has been a critical aspect of efforts to expand the Kantian zone of peace in Europe.

Not surprisingly, these efforts very much reflect the emphasis put on "soft power" in the document "A Secure Europe in a Better World: European Security Strategy" prepared by the EU High Representative, Xavier Solana. These two fundamentally different approaches of the US and Europe have come to strain transatlantic relations and led Robert Kagan to argue that "Americans are from Mars, Europeans from Venus."

What happens to Turkey in the near future in terms of its domestic politics and foreign policy will have an important bearing on the relationship between the EU and the Middle East. Turkey is currently going through an unprecedented domestic political transformation. Without even accession negotiations starting, Turkey is experiencing a process of "transformation", in the sense that European values, norms, and practices of politics and policymaking are penetrating the Turkish political system. On Monday this week, Turkish state television and radio began broadcasting in minority languages, including Arabic and Kurdish (both Kirmanc and Zaza). The length and content of these programs is extremely modest, but in themselves they reflect a revolutionary transformation on the part of the Turkish state from a self-definition of national identity that emphasized a homogenous Turkish national identity to one that is more at ease with Turkish society's ethnic and cultural diversity. Today, compared to only four years ago, Turkish citizens enjoy much more democracy, human rights, rule of law, transparency, and greater prospects of stability and economic growth.

In Europe, compared to the 1990s, many countries are much more at ease with the new Turkey. Greece is probably the best case in point. Less than a decade ago Greece and Turkey were on the verge of war over little islands in the Aegean Sea. Today Greek-Turkish relations in all senses of the word are blossoming. Greece has become the most vocal advocate of Turkey's EU membership. Greece is possibly the nation in the region that best appreciates the importance of a Turkey that has been transformed into a "soft power."

Undoubtedly the prospect of EU membership has been the most important driving force behind this transformation, as was the case with many other countries that joined the EU. Yet the transformation is far from being consolidated. For the last couple of years, the challenge of EU membership has been primarily Turkey's challenge. Few in Europe believed that Turkey could meet the challenge. Many actually hid behind the belief that Turkey would never be able to meet the Copenhagen political criteria and transform itself to be able to become a member of the EU. There are many in Europe who envisage the EU as a "Christian club" and see Turkish membership as a threat. They raise all kinds of excuses, ranging from presenting Turkey as a "Trojan horse" of Islam to arguing that if Turkey is admitted as a member, the EU will border on the Middle East with all its problems.

Yet there are also many in Europe who believe that a Turkey that has met the criteria deserves to be admitted. For them eventual Turkish membership is a test case of whether Europe will be able to live up to the liberal values it preaches and shed its image of being a Christian club. They even argue that admitting Turkey will allow the EU to have greater credibility on the international scene. The approach that prevails in December 2004, when the European Council meets to decide whether to start negotiations for membership with Turkey, will very much determine whether the EU succeeds in achieving Turkey's integration into the realm of "democratic peace." If it fails, there is a risk of provoking a polarization between Turkey and Europe, fueling the prospects of Samuel Huntington's predicted "clash of civilizations."

Depending on which scenario prevails, Turkey may be able to play a modest constructive role in promoting democracy in the Middle East, and assist an eventual reconciliation between Palestinians and Israelis--or Turkey may revert to a foreign policy that aggravates existing problems. In the latter case, Turkey's democracy, economy, and foreign policy are likely to be adversely affected, with negative consequences for broader regional peace and stability.

It seems that if Turks are from "Venus" rather than "Mars", Turkey may play a more positive role in the Middle East.

-Published 10/6/2004(c)bitterlemons-international.org

Kemal Kirisci is a professor in the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Bogazici University, Istanbul, where he holds the Jean Monnet Chair in European Integration and directs the Center of European Studies.

This article was originally published in the 10-6-2004 edition of Bitter Lemons-International. It is used here with permission.