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Turkish Trinity of Islamism, Nationalism & Developmentism

Erdogan's Trinity

SHAFAQNA FUTURE | by Dr Abolfazl Fateh*:  Erdoğan, who became the mayor of Istanbul in 1999 and rose to power at the highest level of Turkey since 2003, has served three terms as prime minister and two terms as president, and is now on the verge of starting his third term as president.

Erdoğan has been able to promise difficult coexistence in Turkey, which can be in focus in this sensitive region of the world, which suffers from dogmatic, dependent or non-popular governments, lifelong rulers, hereditary monarchies, nominal republics, and many deep cultural, social, political and religious divisions and conflicts.

Trinity of Islamism, Nationalism & Developmentism

He has been able to combine the three discourses of Islamism, developmentism and nationalism to some extent, which has also played an essential role in proving and establishing himself. One of the problems of many Islamist or nationalist currents that will soon fade away is the conflict between Islamism and nationalism.

Erdoğan has mixed the two so much that he was able to bring even right-wing parties such as the National Movement party, which is known for extreme rightism, with the Justice and Development Party, and in the negotiations of the second round of the elections, he was able to attract Mr. Oghan Sanan and a large part of his nationalist coalition, which is known as the ETA coalition, in this election. His deep conflict with “PKK” is also defined in the framework of his nationalism.

Another characteristic of Mr. Erdoğan is trying not to put Islamism in conflict with developmentism. Mr. Erdoğan has been able to balance between these basic categories to a large extent. From the development of Turkey’s economic and communication infrastructure, which is characterized by its ports, road and transportation industry, aviation, airport, and tourism, and to the development in the field of science, technology, military, and diplomacy in such a way that put Türkiye as one of the main destinations of investors from neighboring countries.

Mr. Erdoğan personally reads the Quran, his wife wears a Hijab, participates in Sunni congregational prayers, and even organizes an Ashura ceremony for Shias, and in the awe of a legacy of the Ottoman Empire, in the field of regional relations, put special importance to the relations with Muslim countries and has a special relationship with Islamic organizations such as the Brotherhood, and considers himself the claimant of Palestine, and at the same time, he does not engage the Turkish society in the conflicts of its desired religious lifestyle.

In other words, he takes the banner of Islamism, but he does not claim Sharia, and with the shield of religion and religion, he does not take the government against anyone, and perhaps because he does not go against anyone with the claim of religion, he does not give opponents of the government an excuse for anti-religion. With the economic development of Türkiye, he has been loyal to his justice slogans to a certain extent and has succeeded in attracting the votes of a large part of the weak class of Turkish society to the extent that even in the earthquake-affected areas where there were many criticisms of the government’s performance and efficiency, was able to attract significant votes.

Mr. Erdoğan’s fans consider him to be a strong and level-headed person and recognize his juggling in foreign policy. He has a flexible foreign policy and there is no way to create taboos in his foreign policy. He has been able to promote Türkiye in global diplomacy, and with all past dependencies to the West and membership in NATO, he has followed an independent strategy in many regional developments, including the Ukraine war, and appeared as a mediator. It is understandable to what extent membership in NATO and the Western Bloc with an independent role in the Ukraine crisis requires manoeuvring.

Mr. Erdoğan’s negative strategies

Although it should be fair to say that freedom in Türkiye is stronger than many claimant countries in the region. However, Mr. Erdoğan should be given a negative score in guaranteeing and developing freedom and libertarianism due to the centralism that has dominated the construction of Turkish power. Twenty years of his presence in power and all political and economic arteries and official tribunes, along with his personal charisma and populist behavior, have made the space difficult for the opposition and his rivals. In this recent election, most of the main and official media in Türkiye were under the control of Mr. Erdoğan, and according to some estimates, his share of advertising in the official and main media was more than eight times that of his competitors.

Naturally, in such conditions, it is more difficult to defeat him than a competition in relatively equal conditions. It is not without reason that Mr. Erdoğan is known as an authoritarian personality who has injected authoritarianism into various parts of the Turkish government structure. If he had allowed someone other than himself to be a candidate, then he would have achieved a more accurate assessment of the position of his party and his ideas, and he would have given in to a more competitive competition. Perhaps this is the reason why in some countries such as the United States, no one is allowed to be at the top of power more than twice, so that power does not become rigid on the axis of one person.

As we have seen, Mr. Obama should stay out of the presidential race forever because of his eight years in power, so that the purpose of the election, which is the rotation of power in the charisma of a person, does not fall into power for life even if he is elected. Of course, every model of democracy has its own problems, and American democracy also has its own special problems, this article is not the place to analyze it.

Another negative strategy of Mr. Erdoğan is the polarization of the Turkish society in such a way that more than 44% of the society is on one side and Mr. Erdoğan’s supporters on the other side have found an irreconcilable alignment. Inflation and devaluation of the Turkish Lira in the recent period and the pressure on the low-income classes along with the formation of gangs dominating the economy and politics and reports of government and party corruption are other criticisms that critics have made on Erdoğan’s party.

Conclusion

Using what has been said, in the author’s opinion, it can be said that the long term, the future of the Middle East region will belong to movements that can manifest a trinity of religion, nationalism, and development in a context of freedom and justice. And of course, it can be said that the distance from this balanced manifesto has played a significant role in the current situation of the region, both among the ruling and opposition currents.

*Dr Abolfazl Fateh is an Iranian senior Journalist and media expert. This text has been originally published in Persian by Etemad newspaper.

Source: Etemad Newspaper

www.shafaqna.com

Read more from Shafaqna:

Senior Journalist: For now, Erdoğan’s defeat a little more difficult than his victory

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