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What the Referendum’s “Yes” means for Europe’s “No”
- Kemal İnat
- 1 Nis 2017
- 3 dakikada okunur
The hotly debated referendum on Constitutional amendments that is to be held on April 16th is not confined within Turkey alone. It also happens to be one of the most important topics that leads the debate among European politics within the framework of the referendum in Turkey.
Why are the European countries and the politicians of the EU so anxious about the amendments to the Constitution in Turkey?
The fact that Turkey’s politics has attracted so much interest in Europe is nothing new. In fact, developments in Turkey have always been important for Europe. This is because since the last days of the Ottoman Empire, a number of European countries have often struggled to exercise influence over Turkey. When looking at the late 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the Ottoman state was the subject of the struggle for influence between England, France, Russia, and Germany. The Republic of Turkey, which was established as the Ottoman Empire’s successor, formed into a sphere of influence for German and British politics until the Second World War where it remained under the influence of the United States.
During the post-Cold War era, the influence of the EU on Turkey increased substantially with Germany in particular taking the lead and in direct competition with the US. With Berlin making headway to penetrate Ankara, the institutional structure of the EU and the nature of Turkey’s relations with the EU being the point in question.
Europe’s Politics of Influence
There were two important reasons behind the efforts of the Western powers to include Turkey in their spheres of influence: First, Turkey’s weaknesses in economic and military affairs over the last 150 years had allowed the possibility for these countries to influence its politics. Second, the fact that Turkey is straddled in a uniquely strategic location between the Middle East, the Balkans and the Caucasus has made it a country necessary to be controlled by these states.
It can be seen that the interventions of Europe have consistently tried to direct the politics of Turkey and this effort changed shape according to the international conjuncture. In some periods, the European countries that faced off Istanbul / Ankara with demands for land also showed themselves as the forces that helped to “protect” the territorial integrity of Ottoman / Turkey in other periods and portrayed themselves as the forces that demanded the opposite in various ways. In both cases, they have influenced Ottoman / Turkish politics and have tried to manipulate this for their own agenda.
European intervention in Turkish politics continued well after the Second World War. These interventions sometimes came directly in support of the various coups that took place in Turkey, and sometimes by way of pressure on Ankara under the guise of human rights and democracy. At times the UN has also given support to terrorist organizations that have threatened Turkish security and have also created circumstances designed to corrode the economic activity of Ankara.
Europe on the “No” Front
Defaming undesirable politicians, keeping a tab on the local media and using that media to create a smear campaign against Turkey have become increasingly popular methods of the Europeans to topple those that they are against in Turkey. Their aim is to discredit the politicians that are their chosen targets, overthrown by way of elections, with the goal of having them replaced with those who are easier and more open for manipulation.
Since the cost of overthrowing politicians – which cannot be changed through the polls – have become a heavy financial burden, their primary objective has been manipulation of the electorate by media campaigns.
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