Kemalist Republic and Islamic Republic.
Turkey is currently undergoing a transformation. On the one hand, it is Islamizing, and on the other hand, it is adopting Mr. Davutoglu's neo-Ottoman perception of the world and the country's international position, of a grandiose ideological direction, with strong elements of changing the international environment to its benefit, regardless of International Treaties.
But is Turkey a democracy? Does Mr. Erdogan and his party desire true democratization, or is he simply being used as a scapegoat in the eyes of the West and as a Trojan Horse to drive out the Kemalist establishment?
Kemal's Turkey, the Turkish Republic, was essentially an anti-democratic, nationalist state, with dominant concepts of statism, Turkism and a peculiar and superficial secularism, since Islamism remained the dominant religious concept and non-Muslims were treated with suspicion at the very least. Its pillars were the Army, the Security Forces, the Justice System and the Bureaucracy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, assisted by the media. Erdogan's Turkey, despite the declarations and assurances to the West for the deepening of Democracy, which have already begun to be questioned, does not seem to be heading in this direction, since it retains all the authoritarian elements of Kemalism. The 100s of imprisoned journalists and Kurds attest to this.
How does Islamism affect Turkey? In the last 10 years, the Islamic movement of Fethullah Gülen, mentor of Messrs. Erdoğan and Gül, has begun to play a significant role in Turkish society, taking on the responsibility of operating schools at all levels, scholarships, charitable foundations, business groups, and media groups. It prepared society for Islamization and, above all, created trained groups of citizens, members of the Gülen movement, ready to take over the reins of state institutions. Gülen himself has proclaimed the need for Islamic governance.
Erdogan's AKP was the political entity that undertook to implement the project of Turkey's transition from the "Kemalist Republic" to the "Islamic Republic". Based on the preparation of the Gülen movement, the AKP has conquered all the strongholds of Kemalism, and the fall of the latter, the Armed Forces, is unfolding. We can estimate with great accuracy that the winner of this conflict will be the Islamist Erdogan.
Kemal proclaimed the principle "Peace in Turkey, peace in the world" and proceeded with Eleftherios Venizelos to bring the two states closer together with the common goal of Greek-Turkish friendship. After his death, revisionist tendencies towards international treaties gradually prevailed and Turkey proceeded to annex the Alexandretta Province, to become involved in the Cyprus problem, to invade and occupy part of the territories of the Republic of Cyprus and to present numerous claims against our country. With the doctrine of neo-Ottomanism that it adopts, it now also possesses the theoretical tool to justify its revisionism.
Is the claim that democracies do not fight each other valid? In our country, some believed it and hope that as Turkey is “democratized” by Erdogan and the militaristic Kemalist regime is overthrown, the possibility of conflict between the two neighboring countries becomes less likely. But is Turkey ultimately turning the claim into a myth of the liberal perception of international relations?
A certainty and a suspicion are thus created. The certainty is that neo-Ottoman Turkey, democratic or not, will continue to seek to change the status quo of the region. The suspicion, which remains to be proven in the future, is that Turkey is not heading towards a Western-style democracy, but towards an Islamic-style democracy.
