Turkey’s soft power
The more Turkey’s civil society is strengthened, the more this country can be a role model for its region and beyond in the Muslim world.
Earlier this summer, talking at a conference organized by the Press and Publications Department of the Prime Ministry for local media members in Adana, I had shocked the audience when I defended the role civil society organizations, or as it is more commonly referred to, nongovernmental organizations, could play in the formation of both domestic, economic, social as well as foreign policy objectives of this country by suggesting “privatization of policy making.”
Naturally, what I tried to explain was not an anarchist approach to the concept of state, but rather to stress the role establishments like the Turkish Union of Chambers and Commodities Exchanges (TOBB), think tank organization Turkey Economy Policies Research Center (TEPAV), the Eurasia Studies Center (ASAM) or the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) could offer Turkey in policy planning by offering ideas that differ from those of “official Turkey” and thus utilize the “soft power” of this country in attaining new dimensions in all spheres.
I was stressing that rather than concocting a foreign policy through the contributions of only the Foreign Ministry and often without the Foreign Ministry’s contributions but through discussions among some advisors of the prime minister or the foreign minister, Turkey should encourage civil society to nourish fresh ideas and try to benefit from those ideas.
I was underlining that if one of the thousands of ideas that can be developed by civil society provide a new dimension or help Turkey to better promote any of the fundamental domestic, economic or foreign policy objectives of this country then such a probability is worth encouraging works of TEPAVs, ASAMs and the TESEVs.
Indeed, that ought to be the case in any participatory democracy that this country has been aspiring to become.
While the U.S. and the European Union might hope that the “moderate Islam” they see in the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and Turkey under the AKP’s rule can be a role model for the Islamic world with the successes of the modernity project undertaken by the founding fathers of this country resulting in a democratic, secular and pluralistic Turkish republic.
Appreciation for TEPAV
Turkey has two very important guests nowadays: Presidents Shimon Peres of Israel and Mahmoud Abbas of Palestine. They will come together with President Abdullah Gül for a first-time-ever encounter of Turkish, Israeli and Palestinian leaders under the same roof. This meeting will be taking place just few weeks before the forthcoming talks in United States with President George W. Bush to search for common ground to re-launch a search for peace in the Middle East.
Though it is too early to even assume that the forthcoming talks in the U.S. city of Annapolis will in any way lead to yet another Camp David-style process, it is clear that the Arab-Israeli conflict has reached a very crucial junction that we hope will gear toward a resolution.
These two presidents are in Turkey because of the works of TEPAV. The two leaders are here to put the final signatures to a project TEPAV has undertaken under the leadership of Güven Sak with the support of TOBB President Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu. The “Ankara Forum for Economic Cooperation” and the “Eretz Industrial Zone” project that TEPAV under the leadership of Sak has started to bring to life are good examples of the effective role Turkish civil society can play not only for Turkey’s progress, but also for the promotion of peace and stability in this region.
It might be just a detail for outsiders, but when completed the Eretz industrial zone – which was demolished almost completely by hostilities as well as by withdrawing Israelis – will provide job opportunities to as many as 6,000 Palestinians and thus prove the slogan “Industry for peace” a success.
Of course this project could not become realty without the support of the Turkish state and the international community, but we have to underline that this is a product of Turkey’s soft power with which it can be a role model in this geographical region.