"In Turkey, things either change slowly or all at once" a Turkish friend recently told me.
Behind this Yogi Berra-esque comment lies a profoundly simple message: development in Turkey, as in many other countries, is asymmetrical. This is a reality that many analysts in the US can't seem to deal with. They look for smooth patterns--the rise of Islamist elite, the fall of the secular elite, etc.--to the determent of their analysis.
Take, for example Soner Cagaptay's February 2009 article in the Washington Post. Cagaptay uses a cadre of carefully massaged facts and misrepresentations to drive home his assertion that AKP is pulling Turkey away from the West. It’s a simple, streamlined argument that is fundamentally wrong.
To be clear AKP is not perfect; their excessive use of patronage networks is a slap in the face to democracy and the rule of law in Turkey. But they are not out to turn Turkey into Saudi Arabia. Moreover, they are far more interested in globalism than the old secularists Cagaptay pines for.
To butcher a real Yogi Berra quote: Half the lies they say about Turkey aren't true.
- Evan
Behind this Yogi Berra-esque comment lies a profoundly simple message: development in Turkey, as in many other countries, is asymmetrical. This is a reality that many analysts in the US can't seem to deal with. They look for smooth patterns--the rise of Islamist elite, the fall of the secular elite, etc.--to the determent of their analysis.
Take, for example Soner Cagaptay's February 2009 article in the Washington Post. Cagaptay uses a cadre of carefully massaged facts and misrepresentations to drive home his assertion that AKP is pulling Turkey away from the West. It’s a simple, streamlined argument that is fundamentally wrong.
To be clear AKP is not perfect; their excessive use of patronage networks is a slap in the face to democracy and the rule of law in Turkey. But they are not out to turn Turkey into Saudi Arabia. Moreover, they are far more interested in globalism than the old secularists Cagaptay pines for.
To butcher a real Yogi Berra quote: Half the lies they say about Turkey aren't true.
- Evan
