The expanding EU : What's at stake for Turkey? 80 years of history

written by Suat KINIKLIOGLU

Thursday, 16 December 2004

PARIS: Even as the leaders of the European Union countries meet in Brussels to decide on whether to open EU membership negotiations with Turkey, the European public is in the midst of an intense debate.

Not a day goes by without polls, statements and opinion articles on Turkish accession reverberating in the news media. Yet, what is missing in Europe's discussion is a recognition of the internal debate in Turkey and a better understanding what the prospect of EU membership means for the Turks.

For many Turks, EU accession involves much larger considerations than joining a privileged economic and political club. Membership in the EU carries with it ideological baggage that relates to the raison d'être of the Turkish republic. Turkey's EU drive is closely associated with competing domestic political visions that should matter to Europeans.

The Turkish republic was founded in reaction to the Ottoman Empire and defined itself in stark contrast to it. The early republicans associated the empire with everything that was archaic, religious and backward. They modeled the republic on modern, secular and progressive lines, similar to those they saw in Europe. They also embarked on an unprecedented "civilizational turn" and in the 1920s and 1930s radically broke with Turkey's past.

The ultimate aim, as Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the republic, proclaimed, was to attain "contemporary civilization." Turks soon identified what was then the European Economic Community as the political expression of "contemporary civilization" that Ataturk had set them the task of reaching. As the EEC evolved into a deeper union in the 1990s, Turkey's republican elite became even more fixated with joining it.

To understand the Turkish domestic dynamics at play, one must start by recognizing that Turkey's radical break with its past was not only initiated with the aim of imitating Western civilization but also motivated by a genuine desire to participate in it.

The EU has been reluctant, however, to respond to this Turkish desire. This reluctance in turn reflects the challenges Turks face domestically.

The struggle for ideological dominance has been an ongoing process in Turkey ever since the establishment of the republic in 1923. To this day, an ideological struggle over the nature of the republic continues.

On one side of the battle are Turkey's secular republicans, who continue to advocate a Western-oriented sociopolitical order in which religion remains in the private domain of the individual and does not interfere with state affairs.

On the other side are those who favor a larger role for religion in Turkish society, which is not necessarily radical yet interprets the notion of secularism with an accentuation on more religious freedom. Inevitably, these two competing views clash on many issues.

The domestic ideological struggle in Turkey and its meaning for Turkey's drive to join the EU becomes even more perplexing given that the governing Justice and Development Party has Islamic roots but defines itself as conservative. It was the governing party that pushed the reform process throughout the last two years and made Turkey's "quiet revolution" a reality.

For Turks, accommodating a predominantly Islamic population within a secular political order that allows critical universal values to coexist has become a source of pride but also a great responsibility.

Turks are conscious of the fact that their model is intensely discussed by Muslims and non-Muslims throughout the globe. In this respect, the Turkish republic continues to be a great experiment that cannot be allowed to fail. Turkey's friends and allies share an equal responsibility in this great experiment. It is here that the issue of EU membership matters the most.

The beginning of accession talks with Turkey aimed at full membership would signify a decisive victory for the republic's ideals and a monumental defeat for those who advocate Turkey's turning its back on Europe. Turkey's republican ideal would be crowned with a final confirmation that Turkey is part of Europe and Turkey's perennial identity crisis would be settled.

Furthermore, there is no doubt that accession would lead to a more democratic, stronger and more liberal Turkey that would have an immense moderating impact on its immediate neighborhood.

The European debate on Turkey is incomplete without an appreciation of the dynamics at work within Turkey. Understanding those domestic arguments is not only in the interest of a healthy European debate, but is also in the interest of our common future in Europe.