Eurasianism An Ideological Revival (2nd Chapter)

I Ozgur Tufekci is an assistant professor of International Relations at Karadeniz Technical University, Turkey. He holds MA on International Studies from the University of Sheffield, UK, and a PhD on Sociology and International Relations from Coventry University, UK. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Global Analysis and Senior Editor of Caucasus International. Cover image: ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Republican People’s Party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu walks behind a wreath at a ceremony at the Anitkabir to mark the 77th anniversary of Ataturk’s death in Ankara, on November 10, 2015. Design: Positive2 www.ibtauris.com POWER AND THE IDEOLOGY OF EURASIANISM ‘One of the most striking aspects of Eurasianist ideology today is its spread beyond Russia to influence political discourses in other countries. Ozgur Tufecki’s new study is an important contribution to understanding how this process is unfolding in Turkey.’ Mark Bassin, Baltic Sea Professor in the History of Ideas, Center for Baltic and East European Studies, Södertörn University, Stockholm THE FOREIGN POLICY OF MODERN TURKEY ‘During the current turbulent times in Turkey, Ozgur Tufekci provides an important and original analysis of Turkish foreign policy from a perspective that is not only unorthodox but is highly thought provoking. This work is an excellent contribution to the literature.’ Birol Yesilada, Professor of Political Science and International Studies, Portland State University. Ozgur Tufekci n the last three decades, Turkey has attempted to build close relationships with Russia, Iran and the Turkic World. As a result, there has been ongoing debates about the extent to which Turkey’s international relations axis is shifting eastwards. Ozgur Tufekci argues here that Eurasianist ideology has been fundamental to Turkish foreign policy and continues to have influence today. The author first explores the historical roots of Eurasianism in the nineteenth century, comparing this to Neo-Eurasianism and pan-Slavism. The Özal era (1983–93), the Cem era (1997–2002) and Davutoğlu era (since 2003) are then examined to reveal how foreign policy making has been informed by discourses of Eurasianism, and how Eurasianist ideas were implemented through internal and external socio-economic and political factors. Turkey is presented as a multiregional actor that aims to both strengthen its relationships with Europe and the United States, but also become an indispensable member of the EU through its relationships with neighbouring states. While the Westernist discourse might bridge the East and the West, Turkish Eurasianism aims to counterbalance Western-dominated Turkish foreign policy and enable Turkey to become a global power. In analyzing the different Eurasianist views regarding Turkey’s future relations with the Western and the Eastern worlds, this book offers conceptual clarity of Turkish Eurasianism. It will be essential reading for those interested in Turkish foreign policy and the Eurasianist ideology, especially Turkish Eurasianism and its discourses. THE FOREIGN POLICY OF MODERN TURKEY Power and the Ideology of Eurasianism OZGUR TUFEKCI “During the current turbulent times in Turkey, Ozgur Tufekci provides an important and original analysis of Turkish foreign policy from a perspective that is not only unorthodox but is highly thought provoking. This work is an excellent contribution to the literature.” Birol Yesilada, Professor of Political Science and International Studies, Portland State University “One of the most striking aspects of Eurasianist ideology today is its spread beyond Russia to influence political discourses in other countries. Ozgur Tufecki’s new study is an important contribution to understanding how this process is unfolding in Turkey.” Mark Bassin, Baltic Sea Professor in the History of Ideas, Center for Baltic and East European Studies, Södertörn University, Stockholm THE FOREIGN POLICY OF MODERN TURKEY Power and the Ideology of Eurasianism OZGUR TUFEKCI Published in 2017 by I.B.Tauris & Co. Ltd London • New York www.ibtauris.com Copyright q 2017 Ozgur Tufekci The right of Ozgur Tufekci to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Every attempt has been made to gain permission for the use of the images in this book. Any omissions will be rectified in future editions. References to websites were correct at the time of writing. Library of Modern Turkey 22 ISBN: 978 1 78453 742 5 eISBN: 978 1 78672 117 4 ePDF: 978 1 78673 117 3 A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library A full CIP record is available from the Library of Congress Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: available Typeset in Garamond Three by OKS Prepress Services, Chennai, India Printed and bound by CPI Group (UK) Ltd, Croydon, CR0 4YY For my Dearest Wife, Sözen and Daughter, Göksu Leyla CONTENTS List of Figures List of Tables Acknowledgements Introduction Overview of Eurasianism with its Historical Development 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Geopolitical Thinking and World Politics Eurasianism: An Ideological Revival General Framework of Turkish Foreign Policy Since the Late Ottoman Era Diverse Discourses of Eurasianism in Turkey Three Periods of Turkish Foreign Policy and the Scope of Application of the Discourses Conclusion viii x xi 1 11 39 75 95 125 161 Acronyms and Abbreviations Note on Pronunciation 175 177 Notes Bibliography Index 179 215 239 LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1.1 Turkey’s Lebensraum 18 Figure 1.2 The Ottoman Empire at its greatest extent 20 Figure 1.3 Anatolia: Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, 1807– 1924 21 Figure 1.4 Partitioning of Anatolia and Thrace according to the Treaty of Sèvres 22 Figure 1.5 Boundaries of the modern state of Turkey 23 Figure 1.6 Mackinder’s Heartland concept: 1904 26 Figure 1.7 Mackinder’s Heartland concept: 1919 27 Figure 1.8 Mackinder’s Heartland concept: 1943 28 Figure 1.9 Political cartoon by Behic
AK demonstrating “geopolitics as common sense” in Turkey 29 Figure 1.10 The Rimland concept 35 Figure 2.1 Dugin’s civilisational zones/poles 56 Figure 2.2 Dugin’s spaces 57 Figure 4.1 The cover of Bozkurt 107 LIST OF FIGURES ix Figure 4.2 Turkey – Turkic states foreign trade (US $ millions) 109 Figure 4.3 Alleged Turanian lands 112 Figure 5.1 Turkish– EU bilateral trade (US $ millions) 139 Figure 5.2 Top 20 Government contributors of international humanitarian assistance, 2003– 12 (US $ billions) 150 Figure 5.3 ODA from Turkey, 2000– 12 (US $ billions) 150 Figure 5.4 Top ten recipients of Turkey’s Official Humanitarian Assistance, 2007– 11 (US $ millions) 151 Figure 5.5 Diplomatic missions of selected countries abroad 153 LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 Turkey– Russian federation foreign trade (US $ millions) 67 Table 3.1 Principles and mechanisms of the new Turkish foreign policy 90 Table 4.1 Typology of the discourses of Turkish Eurasianism 115 Table 4.2 The Differences between the Three Discourses 123 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my gratitude to a number of individuals and organisations without which this study would have proved impossible. First, I would like to extend my sincere thanks to Professor Alp Özerdem who provided invaluable guidance throughout the period of this research. He contributed a lot to this work. Thanks to all my colleagues and friends at CESRAN International, particularly to those for their sincere friendship and kindness: Murad Duzcu, Hüsrev Tabak, Rahman Dağ and Kadri Kaan Renda. I would also like to thank my parents and sisters for encouraging me to dream and work hard. Without their kind support, this experience would not have been at all possible. Most of all, I would like to thank my wife Sözen, my other half; she is my inspiration and the spark that lightens my days. Thank you for your unconditional love and the sacrifices you have made to join me in this adventure to fulfil my dream. CHAPTER 2 EURASIANISM: AN IDEOLOGICAL REVIVAL Introduction Russia’s intellectual circles have spent a significant amount of time determining Russia’s place in the world. Particularly, these investigations reached their peak during the cataclysmic times of the Russian Revolution, World War I, the collapse of the USSR (The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics), etc. Both Classical Eurasianism and Neo-Eurasianism came out in such times as a conclusion to seeking a historical, geopolitical and cultural identity along with other nationalist movements. Nowadays, the term “Eurasianism” is synonymous with the term “Neo-Eurasianism”, although the latter represents different perspectives. To understand and assess Eurasianism thought from a holistic perspective, its background should be known and understood. For instance, under which conditions has it been developed? What was the rationale behind it? When was it brought about by its supporters? That is why the whole background of Eurasianism, its fathers and their goals from the early days of the twentieth century until present time need to be revealed for the purpose of providing a broad review of Eurasianism as the groundwork to evaluate the discourses of Eurasianism in contemporary Turkish politics. And then, the Eurasianism ideology needs to be briefly compared with pan-Slavism, as it is one of the ideologies which is confused most with the ideology of Eurasianism. 40 THE FOREIGN POLICY OF MODERN TURKEY Classical Eurasianism: A Historical Context, Emergence and Principles In Ancient Greece, the earth was divided into three separate pieces of land; Europe, Asia and Africa. The boundaries were waterways. For instance, the Mediterranean Sea was the boundary between Africa and Europe; the Nile was the boundary between Africa and Asia.1 While the boundaries, which separate Africa from Europe and Asia, were clear, there was no certain boundary between Europe and Asia. Whereas this is one of the geographical divisions of the world, there are other claims, which divide the world. For instance, Herodotus defines Europe in another way. According to him, “Europe has no independent existence, since it is only a part of Eurasia, which has no real internal boundaries of its own.”2 Having several perceptions of geographical divisions of the world led to producing many inclusions and exclusions to describe the placement of Europe and Asia in the modern world. Eurasianism thought is one of the conclusions of such perceptions. It refers to the term “Eurasia”. It literally means Europe plus Asia. As a geographical term, it was Alexander Von Humboldt’s contribution to the literature. Humboldt (1769–1859) was a German naturalist and explorer who explored much of Central and South America. In addition, he travelled through Russia and Siberia as far east as the Altai Mountains and south to the Caspian Sea from 12 April to 28 December 1829.3 Whereas Humboldt’s perspective was purely and simply geographical, the Russian Eurasianists approached the term from a different angle. According to them, the most crucial point was the territory of Russia. According to N. S. Trubetskoy, “The territory of Russia . . . constitutes a separate continent . . .”.4 Moreover, this separate continent was a self-contained geographical entity whose boundaries coincided roughly with those of the Russian Empire in 1914.5 The reason why these Russian Eurasianists embraced this perspective was the conditions, which the Russian Empire experienced during the difficult times of the early twentieth century. Herein, probing the early times of the 1900s is necessary to display some information about the founders of Eurasianism and to learn under which conditions