Will Turkey and the Turkish people rise from their ashes once again?

A summary of political Islamist foreign policy in the 100th year of the Republic: Diplomacy with a "religious and sectarian flavor" in the unbearable lightness of pragmatism

Our Republic has surpassed a century.

In its 100th year, the Republic of Turkey is unfortunately moving rapidly away from its founding values.

Over the last 21 years, the founding philosophy that prioritized enlightenment, reason, science, and secularism has been replaced by a religious, sectarian, ethnic, and identity-based mentality.

There is an erosion in every field, from the economy to politics, from national security to culture, art, and education.

Foreign policy is no exception to this.

Since coming to power in 2002, the AKP has step-by-step dismantled Turkey's traditional foreign policy, which was rational, realistic, balanced, and trust-building, and committed to Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's principle of "Peace at Home, Peace in the World."

In its place, as the title of this article suggests, it has put a foreign policy understanding with a "religious and sectarian flavor" in the unbearable lightness of pragmatism.

It is a foreign policy approach entirely focused on domestic politics—that is, fortifying the AKP voter base through bombastic rhetoric such as "Hey America," "Hey West," or "One minute"—and focused on Erdoğan protecting and maintaining his power...

Since it was impossible for the AKP to construct a rational and realistic framework prioritizing national interests based on a political Islamist paradigm from its early years in power, it used the state power it seized recklessly to adopt an adventurous, but more so, idealistic and interventionist foreign policy approach.

Naturally, there was a strong religious and sectarian orientation in the background of this approach.

Ahmet Davutoğlu, to whom Erdoğan entrusted the helm of foreign policy for a period, wore Sunni-tinted glasses, especially when looking at the Middle East.

He was making an effort to bring the Muslim Brotherhood—which was a very useful strategic apparatus in the eyes of the West at that time—to the administration of countries in the Arab geography.

He had a dream of creating a Sunni ummah through the Muslim Brotherhood.

To write more clearly, Davutoğlu was aspiring to the Ottoman Empire and chasing a dream of providing leadership to countries in the former Ottoman geography.

Moreover, to realize this dream, he intended to carry out regime changes in neighboring countries, and by making the jihadist gangs he fed untouchable through the rhetoric of "religious brothers," he practically turned Turkey into the source of unrest in the entire region.

According to him, Turkey's previous foreign policy was passive and submissive.

With self-proclaimed approaches such as "zero problems with neighbors," "strategic depth," and "proactive foreign policy," he led Turkey into a muddy, foggy, and hazy dangerous path where one could not see a step ahead.

But his calculations at home did not match the reality in the market.

With the West writing off the Muslim Brotherhood, Davutoğlu lost his seat.

He packed his bag containing his dreams, but Erdoğan's religion-flavored pragmatism in foreign policy continued.

The AKP cut the rope of the anchor connecting Turkey to the Council of Europe; the country rapidly moved away from values such as democracy, human rights, and the rule of law.

The political Islamist oligarchy took full advantage of the opposition's incompetence—or conscious cooperation—and seized all the country's institutions and organizations as comfortably as walking through a village without dogs.

It penetrated into the very capillaries of the country.

Although Erdoğan gives the appearance of entering into a political and strategic confrontation with Western countries, especially the USA, to fortify his own base internally, he knew very well that it was these countries that kept him in power.

Both former US President Obama and former German Chancellor Merkel did their best during their terms to ensure Erdoğan kept his seat in Turkey.

It is still remembered that Merkel ensured the publication of the Progress Report, in which the EU made harsh criticisms of the AKP, was left until after the general elections in Turkey, thus shielding Erdoğan.

Erdoğan had assumed the role of a guard for his European friends—at the cost of Turkey turning into a refugee haven—protecting them from this new migration of peoples.

If Erdoğan were to fall from power, there was nothing Europe could do against this new and powerful wave of migration.

The country that could be sacrificed was Turkey.

But the refugee issue was an unmissable opportunity for Erdoğan in terms of turning the Turkish nation into an ummah.

In other words, the interests of Europe and Erdoğan coincided in this sense.

In short, the Republic of Turkey experienced the most troubled period of its 100-year history in foreign policy during the AKP government.

To give a brief summary;

What have we experienced in foreign policy during the 21 years the AKP has been in power;

• A sack was placed over the heads of Turkish soldiers in Iraq, and Erdoğan announced that he was a co-chair of the Greater Middle East Project (BOP), which envisioned partitioning the Middle East.
  
  
• Israeli commandos raided the Mavi Marmara ship carrying aid to Palestine, and 10 of our people lost their lives.

• One of our reconnaissance aircraft was shot down in Syria, and our pilot was martyred.
  
  
• The Tomb of Suleyman Shah on Syrian territory was smuggled into Turkey so that the Turkish Armed Forces would not clash with the terrorist organization ISIS.
  
  
• ISIS burned the Turkish soldiers it kidnapped alive in front of cameras.
  
  
• 33 of our soldiers on Syrian territory were martyred in an attack by a Russian aircraft.
  
  
• Millions of refugees came to Turkey due to the civil war in Syria fueled by the AKP government.
  
  
• Likewise, Turkey became the address for illegal immigrants coming from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and African countries.
  
  
• Apart from these, Greece claimed ownership of islands in the Aegean that belong to Turkey.

It is possible to multiply these examples.

The destruction created by the political Islamist government in almost every field in the country also caused a great loss of reputation abroad.

Far from rising above the level of contemporary civilization shown by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, we have, so to speak, been relegated in the world league.

Turkey;

In the freedom rankings, it regressed to the same category as countries like Belarus, Congo, the Central African Republic, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Gabon, that is, the status of a "Not Free Country."

It entered the grey list for money laundering along with Sudan, Yemen, and Syria.

In the democracy rankings, it ranked 103rd, 40 places below Ghana, 24 below Senegal, 18 below Tunisia, and 4 below Uganda.

In the corruption and bribery rankings, it remained even below Burkina Faso and Tanzania. It became 101st in the world.

In the world misery index, it ranked 25th out of 160 countries, and in the judicial independence and rule of law index, it ranked 116th out of 140 countries, behind Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Angola, and Mali.

Unfortunately, this is the picture abroad and in foreign policy as we celebrate the 100th anniversary of our Republic.

Now we need to sincerely seek answers to these questions!

Will Turkey and the Turkish people rise from their ashes once again? Do they have this power?

Will it shake off this lethargy and take initiative for the future of Turkey to stand up again as it did 100 years ago?

Will the country return to its founding settings?

Even though the current circumstances and conditions of today manifest in a very unfavorable nature, one should not lose heart.

We must nourish our hope with the strength we draw from the founding values of the Republic.

Everyone knows that the foundations of the Republic laid in 1923 are strong enough to overcome this "periodic political anomaly."

Despite all the support this political Islamist mentality received from its Western masters, and despite the oppression, violence, threats, and intimidation it applied using all the means of the state, it could not break the bond of a significant portion of this country's people to the republican revolutions.

Let us conclude our article by saying that the 100th anniversary of the Republic should be the beginning of a process in which the Turkish people will stand up again, shake off their lethargy, and rise from their ashes.

HAPPY REPUBLIC DAY