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Why Does
Europe Need Turkey?
Turkey is the Mother of Europe
Kemal Atatürk set an example for his compatriots by donning a hat
rather than the fez, thereby symbolically representing the
Europeanization of his country. The governments of the European
Union (EU) have today been obliged to make an equivalent gesture:
They have had to remove the cross in order to open the door of Old
Europe to a new, wider world. Nowadays, there is no longer a “Sick
Man of Europe”, but instead there is a whole parade of sick men and
women between the River Elbe and the Atlantic.
The Turkish state is once again striving to advance. Its influence
extends over more than 90 million Turkish-speaking people. The
country is placed to become an important innovative factor for
Western and Central Europe – providing the countries of Old Europe
recognise that Turkey has always played this role, today and in the
past, and will continue to do so tomorrow as well. As Johann
Wolfgang von Goethe had already written in his “West-East Divan”
during a period of European disintegration, the unification of the
West and the East represents the highest ideal and culmination of a
unified Europe.
Turkey has always been European
A modern Europe would never have come about without the influence of
the lands of Asia Minor. Knowledge of the world flowed to Western
Europe through this Western Asian cultural bridgehead; this has
never been better expressed than in the figure of Europe who was
abducted by Zeus and taken to the West across the waters of the
Mediterranean Sea. Mathematics and philosophy reached the West
through the lands of what is now Turkey. The falls of Greece and
Rome, attacks by Arabian and Mongol peoples restricted the flame of
enlightenment to a mere splutter for many centuries.
During the European Renaissance, knowledge of Asia Minor and Greece
came back out of obscurity and made Europe into what had made it
great for centuries. These impulses have fundamentally shaped Europe
for more than two millennia. As is usual in the history of peoples,
these impulses were displaced for political reasons. It behoves
politicians and scientists alike to reawaken them and thereby
restore Turkey to its true place in European history.
When the Western Roman Empire fell, the lights of Constantinople
continued to burn. Today’s Istanbul is one of the biggest cities in
Europe and, in terms of its cultural variety, represents the most
shining example of pan-European reunification in the spirit of true
liberality, rather than just a liberality that is restricted to
culture alone. Putting Istanbul in first place is by no means to
decry the enormous achievements of Rome, Madrid, Paris, London and
Berlin, to name but a few of the gilded capitals of Western Europe.
And the achievements of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Warsaw, Prague and
Budapest are by no means any the less.
No city has so intensively and long-lastingly shaped and suffered
from the tensions between Eastern and Western Europe as today’s
Istanbul. Even if many Western Europeans fail to appreciate the
lustre of Pearl of the Bosporus in the way it really deserves, this
is because its surface has not yet been sanitised from the false
reflections and shadows of history.
Recently, the western and southern coasts of Turkey have come to be
appreciated throughout Europe because people from the West have
voted with their feet and their wallets by staying there for weeks,
months or years. This Europeanization of Turkey from the West took
place voluntarily and without external compulsion. It is based on
the work done by Turkish companies in a historic landscape between
Izmir and Antalya. This destination has been appreciated by exacting
Western Europeans in particular who have thereby also discovered the
new Turkey for themselves.
For many years, Turkey has been obliged to export many of its
population to Western Europe where they have earned their keep for
one thing, and contributed greatly to the economic development of
the current EU states for another. Now, the wheel has turned full
circle. Industrialists from Western Europe and all over the world
are coming to Turkey to have their products manufactured there
because of the skills of the inhabitants. The “Turkish Miracle”, to
coin a phrase, is certainly no smaller than the German or Taiwanese
economic miracles. We are poised just at the start of a wonderful
friendship, to paraphrase a line from a French film.
Turkey is a Bridge to the East
The creation of the European Union (EU) was the greatest political
achievement by European countries during the past century.
Confounding many people’s doubts, Western European statesmen and
women succeeded in triggering a process of development that has not
yet exhausted its strength. And yet it is precisely this major
achievement that makes it impossible to ignore the fact that the
European Union is running the risk of coming up against its limits:
- To the west, the USA with its political and military claims to
superpower status.
- To the south, the African continent and its ongoing crisis that is
presenting the EU with questions and problems to which not even the
start of an answer has been provided.
- To the east, the Russian giant that is going through a process of
transition towards a result that, although we may hope for the best,
is by no means certain.
To the southeast, meanwhile, are the Balkan countries, which, in
their currently fragmented form, have once again become part of a
pattern of Europe in which the zones of influence are overlapping.
Further east, meanwhile, Turkey has grown into a new power during
the past 30 years; a bridge and a security bulwark at one and the
same time.
The one-sided, centralist European philosophy has never properly
grasped the situation of Turkey. Anyone who tries to understand
Turkey from the perspective of the Atlantic will never be able to
comprehend its position and situation. However, the first step
towards understanding modern Turkey is to realise that, from the
very beginnings of Europe, and even at a time before Europe existed,
modern humans migrated westwards from the Caucasus and Black Sea
regions. And it is by no means wrong to declare Turkey the mother of
Europe, after all Rome is accepted as Europe’s father.
As the peoples of Europe migrated westwards, laying the path for
their history as they went, they brought with them the spirit and
practice of what was, from their perspective, the Near East. They
brought with them agriculture, urban construction and ideas about
the freedom of human beings. These developments were variously
reconstituted and improved on their way to Western Europe. The roots
of the knowledge and experience of Western Europe reach back to the
motherland, which, after centuries of exhaustion, has today found
new reserves of strength.
This exhaustion, which history imposes again and again on peoples,
is hardly surprising in the case of Turkey; after all, to take only
the most recent period, during the past 2500 years peoples from west
and east, north and south have moved through this territory and made
repeated attempts to subjugate this entrepôt and bend it to their
own purposes. The seed of Europe grew from many defeats. It was
carried in all directions to the neighbouring peoples on Turkey’s
frontiers and took form in various ways and patterns of belief. And
what was the common driving force? It was not just the struggle for
power, something that is part of all humans and peoples; it was also
the struggle for knowledge. In this regard, it has been a
significant achievement of Turkey to be characterised by the
“Peoples of the Book” whilst still retaining its force of action.
This is a factor that determines success at any time, but
particularly so today.
Young Turks
Just like families are the salt of the earth from which people
spring who are subservient to the earth and its knowledge, young
peoples like that of Turkey are the source of the origin of future
deeds. Old Europe, exhausted by centuries of bloody wars, is only
now feeling the loss of energy that it has inflicted on itself. And
yet Europe, like ancient Crete or more recent Venice, still
represents a mighty bastion of economic and intellectual power.
Nevertheless, the signs of stagnation and decline cannot be
overlooked. The greatest peril facing the countries of the European
Union is not globalisation. On the contrary, the greatest threat to
the nations of Europe comes from excessive ageing. This is a
situation that many people refuse to accept because Europe has never
experienced it before.
Europe must stay young if it wants to maintain its former level of
fitness. This youth can only come from peoples like in Turkey who
are convinced of their belonging to Europe. Anyone who knows the
streets of Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir will feel just as much at home
there as in the streets of Milan, Marseilles or Bristol. A
Turkish-European youth has been growing up there for decades,
convinced advocates of progress, openness and establishing a
peaceful and happy life for themselves.
This should by no means be confused with the superficial images of a
Turkey that will only consume resources. It is one thing to be proud
of the progress that has been achieved, progress modelled on that
made in Europe and the USA. It is another thing, and a slightly more
difficult one at that, to discover and experience the living,
spiritual currents that characterise this young and strong country.
Today, open and liberal discussion has found its place at
universities and in public forums. Many people find it alarming, but
no more so than in other countries of the Earth, when these
discussions take on forms and deal with ideas that lead to disquiet
amongst parts of the population. It is not specifically Turkish to
hallow the achievements of one’s country and leaders. In the USA,
Russia and France, as well as in many other states, respect for
these achievements is a determining factor in life, and so it is in
Turkey too. Whenever this is occasionally used as a means of
reproach, this only serves to demonstrate the depth of the
discussion; what people say and write is taken seriously. Turkish
men and women do not appreciate the denigration of their
achievements, which they regard as considerable. They are no
different in this regard than any other proud people.
However, Turkish youth also represents a huge reservoir of new
knowledge, experience and the will to achieve for a large Europe
that is once again finding its way back to its roots. Just as the
Turkish elites themselves have little to fear from their children,
the other European elites should not fear the children of Turkey. On
the contrary, haven’t Western Europeans been cared for and looked
after for decades by young Turkish doctors? Isn’t it Turkish
engineers working with their male and female colleagues in European
universities who have individually made great achievements? And what
about the Turkish entrepreneurs who are today boosting the gross
domestic product of Italy, Germany and the Nordic nations alike?
Europe needs this Turkish youth, which must of course learn to fight
its corner in this open, liberal Europe. It must fight its corner,
as happens in Berlin, not against but with people from Europe’s
East. It must fight its corner, as happens in London, together with
people from Asia. It must fight its corner, as happens in Paris and
Madrid, with people from Africa and Latin America.
Many people in Western Europe are afraid of this multinational
youth, not just of the young people from Turkey. However, this fear
is based on lack of knowledge, on ignorance of foreigners, of people
that were for a long time called barbarians in Europe. It is a
centuries old fear that feeds on the images of history, damns
foreign youth at the same time as defending and praising one’s own
youth even though – or precisely because – it has become weak.
Anyone who has met young people from Turkey knows that they can
stand alongside other young people from all over the world. They
have acquired the curiosity, the strength and the elegance that
characterizes a global youth nowadays. It would be negligent to fail
to take the doubts seriously, and yet whoever looks at young
Japanese, Moroccans, Canadians and Turkmen alongside Dutch and
French of the same age will no longer have any doubts about the
coming unification. For millennia, the young people of the world
have taken ship, and later airplane, from Izmir to travel all over
the world. Today, the doors of the country are open in all
directions; they are swinging doors that offer security but no
longer represent an obstacle.
The Turks are Ambitious
In the same way that young Americans proudly defend their country,
young Britons matriculate at their universities, young Poles hoist
their flags and are proud of their families’ achievements, so are
young Turks unified and proud, because they have an ambition: To lay
a firm foundation for their life in a very stormy world, to serve
their country, Europe and the world in a positive way.
This ambition should be welcomed even though it may appear alarming
to certain people. People who defend what they have gained instead
of gaining more, people who ascribe more importance to the goods of
the past than those of the future, people who have got more to lose
than to gain, such people have no love for the ambition of youth.
This historically myopic standpoint leads to distortions of the
image of young Turkish men and women. Their curiosity, the joy they
take in the goods of Western Europe and the world, a genuine
pleasure in things that have only reached Turkey recently; these
things spread consternation amongst people who already have
everything and whose level of enthusiasm has ebbed to a lower level.
This people-power should not be underestimated. Provided they are
led by their politicians in a spirit of responsibility, there will
spring forth a historic movement of the type that has characterized
Europe and the world from time immemorial.
What are the Major Challenges?
Turkey has now spent almost a century trying to become European and
is currently a loyal ally of the European nations. The country has
grown up and is demanding its rights. It is doing this in the
knowledge that its nation’s path, if it is to lead to a secure
future, can only be the path to the West although without abandoning
the East: as an entrepôt. Turkey has not just become European, it
has also grown up. The political, social, cultural and economic
status of the country as it currently exists is not reflected in how
the country is perceived. The people and countries of Western Europe
are, to a large extent, insufficiently well informed and do not
appreciate all that has happened during the past ten years.
Consequently, Turkey is faced with the major challenges of promoting
the quality of this growth and directing it to the West; the other
huge task concerns communicating this to its own population and to
the peoples of Europe.
Significant efforts have been made in this direction. However it is
impossible to deny that the will and the commitment have not been
adequate to convince a sufficient number of Europeans. It was the
Americans who once said, “Europe is weighed down by the burden of
history.” This is particularly applicable to the example of Turkey
with its lengthy history stretching back at least 8000 years. Such a
history is both a treasure trove of experience and a handicap that
does not make it any easier to accomplish contemporary tasks. Anyone
who wants to shape politics should not hark back to the deeds of
their grandfathers and great-grandfathers even though they may have
come from other peoples and served other systems. Instead,
prospective movers- and-shakers need to rely on the strength that
comes from recognizing and accepting the present as the starting
point for the future.
The greatest challenge facing Turkey and Europe is to learn the
lessons of history without however deriving immutable conclusions
for current and future actions. Only by adopting such an attitude is
it possible to play a part in shaping events. The European Union
succeeded in casting off the shadows of the past by making the
frontiers between the states, their conflicts and their
misunderstandings into constructive features. In the same way, it is
Turkey’s task to formulate its position between Europe and the
countries of the Middle East. However, if she were to do this on her
own out of an incorrectly understood independence, the result could
be interpreted as only marginally beneficial. As a result, Turkish
institutions have placed great emphasis on making political,
commercial, cultural and social progress in harmony with the peoples
of Europe.
Turkey in the Concert of the Peoples of
Europe and the World
Relations with the peoples of Europe and especially the European
Union (EU) must be improved in the spirit of mutual trust. The
burden of history is only one factor that has to be taken into
account in this regard. The achievements of the previous decades,
whether in the economic or political arena, also need to be
considered here. It is even more important to match up to the
expectations of the future. From this perspective
- The advantages of cooperation from an economic standpoint are
evident. Turkey sees itself as one of the strong economic
locomotives of Europe with well educated people who can contribute
to the sustained growth of Europe. A division of labour will develop
between the peoples of Europe, corresponding to the expectations of
the peoples.
- Although it is completely reasonable to expect benefits from
cooperation on the cultural stage, there is in fact no contradiction
between Turkish and European culture because large parts of European
culture proceeded from Asia Minor. The greatest task facing the
guardians of culture in all nations concerned is to derive the best
from this. States will have to accept obligations in order to make
this possible.
- The benefits of cooperation from a social perspective represent the
greatest opportunity for all those involved. Turkey in a larger
Europe offers the assurance that a new social legitimization will
arise, just as Europe has already successfully mastered many times
in its history. In a globalized world, this is one of the most
valuable developments because formerly separate societies all over
the world are growing together and forming new structures.
Without the political will to aim for, push through and achieve
this, it is not going to be possible to meet these targets and
accomplish these tasks. The strong political will of modern Turkey
must be joined by the strong will of Europe and the European Union;
only both together can master this challenge. However, this is not
to say that the task will be a straightforward one – but it is one
that cannot be avoided.
Relations with the states of the European Union have a special
nature. They must be embedded in the centuries-old relations between
Turkey and the countries of Western and Central Asia as well as
Russia. For the states of Central Asia, Turkey represents the
gateway to the West. Therefore, it is also a gateway to the future
for many people in these states. For them, the path to Turkey is the
first step to the West. This makes Turkey not only a bridge, but
also a conference and anteroom for the countries of Western Europe.
The smoother the cooperation with them, the greater the influence
Europe will project into Central Asia and the more robust the
stability in an important part of the world.
Turkey was already playing the same role for Russia even before the
time of the Soviet Union. The old Russian kingdom of Kiev was
oriented towards Byzantium/Constantinople. The main cultural
impulses of religion and language derived from there. From there
also radiated important trade routes that remained uninterrupted for
centuries and are now experiencing a reinvigoration. In Russia, it
is once again being taken for granted that Turkey is the gateway to
the South; in this way, it is functioning as a turntable in the
service of peace and progress.
Just as, for centuries, Turkey exerted its influence into the Arab
lands, these countries reciprocated the arrangement with all their
strength and culture. It would be a fatal mistake to construe this
as a contradiction in terms; rather, the correct approach is to
ascribe to both the properties of a synthesis that can serve as a
model for other parts of the world. More than with other states,
Turkey is called on to unify cultures and religions. More than with
other states, the experience and the clear declarations of the
Turkish state can help Europe to accomplish outstanding tasks.
Turkey was the first Christian country in Europe – as attested by
the landscapes of Cappadocia that are visited today, as year-in,
year-out in the past, by thousands of Christian pilgrims. The ideas
of Christianity are just as much anchored in today’s Turkey as those
of Islam that has come to great prominence over the past centuries.
Turkey sees it as one of its important tasks – and one that is
comparable to the role of France – to set up a secular state that
grants space to all religions but does not ascribe an exclusive
claim to any particular religion. Only on this basis will states and
peoples be able to build up democracy and create wealth in the long
term, as evidenced by the examples of Europe, Asia and the USA.
Turkey has been traveling this path for three lifetimes now, and no
one can doubt that it will continue to do so.
All the claims and presumptions of religious and cultural conflicts
must be rejected with the utmost vehemence at this point. Such
instrumentalizations do not concord with the practice of
future-oriented politics. Religion defines the relationships between
people and God; the state defines the relationships between people
and society. This has been the basis for the modernization of all
states in the West as in the East; no one can back away from this
unscathed.
This fact explains why Turkey regards it as all the more important
to operate as an entrepôt and sweep away misunderstandings between
the Arab countries and the lands of the West and the North. Also,
the states of the sickle moon cannot be exclusively defined by their
relationship to Islam. Equally, it is impossible to deny them the
right to assign an important position to Islam within their states
just as nowadays – even in Europe – there are societies, which allow
the Christian religion to exert the same influence. Anyone who knows
about and has experienced the history of Europe and Asia will
realize that relationships of this type are extremely complicated.
However, Turkey in particular feels itself called on to support
those who are trying to turn these developments to a peaceful and
progressive end. The Turkish premier, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has
mapped out the solution as follows: “Our membership of the European
Union will demonstrate to the whole world that the division between
civilizations does not run along the lines of religion or culture,
but rather it is a question of democracy, modernity and the will to
embrace reform on the one hand as against totalitarianism,
radicalism and lethargy on the other.” As such, he has positioned
himself firmly in the historical footsteps of Kemal Atatürk with
great clarity and in contradiction of all assumptions to the
contrary.
No European or Asian politics can be well founded without a strong
and healthy relationship with the USA. For the USA, no individual
country can claim to be the sole representative of correct policies;
however, even the less powerful states on the Earth cannot claim to
be able to assess and solve the world’s problems solely from their
own perspective. Therefore, cooperation with the USA – no matter
what form it takes – represents the be-all and end- all of any
Turkish foreign policy. This does not amount to a unilateral
capitulation to external demands; neither does it represent any
emasculation of its own foreign policy interests. Instead, it
involves recognizing the way the political wind is blowing and how
it is influencing the outset of the 21st Century. The USA takes a
global political view that is informed by democratic principles. The
USA has the political, economic and military weight to enter into
global cooperation arrangements with peoples who share the same
outlook.
From this perspective, it is more than ever the task of Turkey,
given its given geographical location, to operate as a bridge and
accomplish this task to the benefit of its people. The undisputed
importance of the USA to the foreign policy concerns of Turkey
impacts on the interests of Europe; finding a balance between the
two has always been the task of this country positioned between Iran
and Greece, between Russia and Egypt.
The USA, the most advanced country on the Earth in the Far West and
Europe, the most advanced country on the Earth in the Near West of
Turkey are the ideal pillars of a Turkish policy that is trying to
stand up for itself in the world of tomorrow. As a component of
these bastions that are capable of influencing a large proportion of
world events, Turkey can contribute to building up Russia and,
equally, the countries of the Near East. A Turk will also be more
readily welcomed by the Iranians than a representative of another
country would be, although nevertheless the attempt must be made not
to turn our back on them but to look them squarely in the eye and
find common ground.
Africa in particular must not be excluded from this new concert of
peoples. Turkish traders have always worked together effectively and
peaceably with those of Africa. To date, the European Union has not
yet done everything in its power to deliver a final response to its
“Mediterranean question”. However, Turkey can make a contribution to
facilitate the process. The commonalities between societies, rather
than cultural differences, should be taken as the starting point for
all efforts – quite apart from the question of social need that is
triggered by economic development.
Europe’s cooperation with Africa is an essential necessity in this
third millennium of European history. Turkey is a neighbouring state
of Africa just as much as the countries of Scandinavia or the
Baltic. They all know how to work together across frontiers, whilst
at the same time not suffering from the cross- border differences
between direct neighbours that stand in the way of progress.
Conclusion
Turkey is the mother of Europe because large parts of European
culture and European knowledge came from the countries that form
today’s Turkey. The economic and political development of Europe and
the world mean that the enforced separation between Turkey and
Europe can no longer be maintained nowadays. A natural development
of Turkey towards Europe is underway and there is a natural
development of Europe leading to expansion towards Turkey.
Turkey sees itself as an entrepôt between Europe and Asia, and also
as an entrepôt between Russia and the countries of the North and
those of the South as far as Arabia and Africa. This is no
presumption, but the consequence of an experience spanning many
millennia that is reawakening in the minds of all political and
cultural players nowadays. As a result, they are pursuing the global
development in which the available communications media are
shrinking the world because people are easier to reach.
The attempt to turn cultural and religious differences into an
overvalued feature of social development is not condoned by Turkey.
This is not a new development, but is linked to the development of
modern Turkey in its characteristics since Kemal Atatürk. In many
places, it is unfortunately impossible to prevent conflicts arising
from this, therefore Turkey views itself as being highly experienced
in and suited to avoiding escalations.
The European Union (EU) and Europe stand to gain from this attitude
on behalf of Turkey providing they take Turkey’s claim seriously and
do not look for any reasons to fall back into the erroneous ways of
the past. Turkey needs Europe like Europe needs Turkey because
Europe has a population that requires more young people in order to
keep itself young and active to a full extent. Europe, and this term
includes both the West and the East, is on the road to becoming one
of the old contents of the world in which the population is no
longer capable of withstanding the social burdens and the costs of
future development unaided. As a result, they are looking to
countries with a young population, such as Turkey, for a way out.
They are investing in companies in such countries in order to pay
the pensions of their graying population.
There is no alternative to this mutual relationship, which harbours
the future of Turkey just as much as that of the states of Europe.
Economic and cultural elites have already embarked on this way of
openness. They have been bold enough to attempt to forge mutual
contact that will provide enrichment to all those concerned. This
has succeeded.
When elites take the first step, politicians have to take the next
step of communicating this to their peoples. In modern democracies,
however, politicians have to take account of those who have less
understanding of the politics of openness and progress. Therefore,
it is the politicians who have to bear the risks of more intensive
cooperation. As a result, it should be understandable that not all
politicians always share the same opinion.
At the same time, the practical work of communication has to be
continued in order to convince millions of people that the future
will be different from the past. Every sociologist knows how
difficult it is to convince a large number of people to accept
something new. The task is above all a difficult one whenever large
minorities are exposed to economic difficulties and fears. However,
if no practical communication is undertaken successfully then the
ongoing democratic development of Europe and Turkey is
inconceivable. This communication has to follow on from the
knowledge and the experience of earlier centuries and millennia, and
must include politicians, university professors, authors and
captains of industry.
Seen from this perspective, the media in Turkey and Europe have an
important role to play because they possess the necessary influence
not only to break open the window to the future but also to show 600
million people the path to the future. It will not be possible to
achieve the goal if the media solely follow the dictates of the
economy. Discussions within the countries of the European Union (EU)
clearly show that the economy alone is not capable of bringing about
a European will. It is all the less likely that financial
necessities alone will bring Europe and Turkey closer together.
Both share the consciousness for a culture that has migrated from
the East to the West. In Europe, it has blossomed in a way that can
only be viewed with respect from the Turkish standpoint. The dream
of experiencing Paris, Berlin or London has always been a Turkish
dream. This European culture – and this is by no means a minor
requirement – must now have the strength to open itself up to other
cultures and integrate them. However, there are grounds for optimism
because this is not the first time it has happened in Europe.
Turkey has always sought the Western path in spite of immense
resistance that is not always understood in Europe. Its elites and
its citizenry, its workers and its students share the deepest
conviction that the future can only be found for them and their
children by following the principles of the West. It is based on the
view that in their own country and in the countries of the West, the
number of those who are stretching out their hands to one another is
greater and more important than was irresistibly drawn by Buonarotti
Michelangelo. This conviction is supported by the observation that
Turkey has already arrived in Europe and Europe is also part of
Turkey. Continuing this process in spite of all unavoidable
resistance will be the decisive factor.
By Klaus J. Stöhlker
Copyright: Radnor Inc. for Klaus J. Stöhlker
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