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[av_heading heading=’INTERNATIONAL ILONGGO | The return of the Ottoman Empire?’ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY JED JALECO DEL ROSARIO
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Sunday, March 26, 2017
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ON APRIL 16, Turkish voters both in and out of Turkey will vote on constitutional amendments that will eliminate the position of Prime Minister and concentrate all branches of the government in the office of the President.
Furthermore, the amendment will also eliminate requirements for Parliament candidates to have served in military service, and may even ban candidates who have strong ties to the military.
Why is this referendum important?
It’s important because it may very well change Turkey from a nationalist, secular state into an Islamic one. Since the 1920s, Kemalism – a type of civic, secular nationalist ideology – is the ruling ideology of the Turkish state.
The Kemalist ideology was sustained by several factors, including the traditional separation of church and state, checks and balances on the powers of the government, strong military support, and a desire among some Turks to be accepted as Europeans.
In contrast to the secular tradition of the Turkish Republic, President Erdogan is suspected of being sympathetic to, or supported by, Islamist officials, many of whom have been involved in various corruption scandals. These ties to Islamists is why Erdogan’s referendum is so important, because if it does succeed, some commentators believe that he will consolidate his power by putting his Islalmist supporters in key positions, and then using his political capital to purge high ranking Kemalists from the government and the military.
In short, the referendum on the constitutional amendments will be a real game changer for Turkey, even if Erdogan and his supporters still have a long way to go. Presently, the President’s party controls a little over half of the seats in Parliament. However, according to some polls, the success of his referendum is far from guaranteed, which is why he has reached out to many Turks living abroad. He hopes to gather more support that will give him more votes for April 16.
If the amendment succeeds, it will mean the end of Kemalism, and, perhaps, turn Turkey into an explicitly Islamic state, and such a transition will have profound effects in both Europe and the Middle East.
First of all, it will mean that Turkey may “pivot” towards the Middle East, and may increase military operations in Syria.
Second, a more powerful Erdogan will also cause serious political problems for Turkey’s Center-Left (which consist of Kemalist-Nationalists) and Far-Left (which consists of secularists Kurds).
Third, Erdogan may use his newfound powers to extract more concessions from the EU either by threatening their gas and oil supplies, opening the floodgates of mass immigration into Europe or a little of both.
Finally, if Erdogan’s referendum passes, it could mean the revival of the cultural and political norms of the explicitly Islamic, Ottoman Empire, and such a transition may inspire other countries to do the same. After all, Erdogan’s referendum isn’t all that special when compared to other “reactionary” events all over the world. Vladimir Putin’s Nationalist Russia is attempting to revive the Russian Empire. Donald Trump’s America First is rebuilding pre-1960s America. European Nationalists are attempting to revive European Identity/Nationalism. Even our election of President Rodrigo Duterte can be interpreted as a reversal of the long-term trajectory of liberal democracy.
So if the Turks want to go back to being Ottomans, don’t be so surprised. Everybody’s doing it. (jdr456@gmail.com/PN)
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