Where is Turkey heading?

Turkey, considered to be one of the most powerful countries in the region has been going through a very difficult period full of conflicts with and in its neighboring countries.

It would not be fair to say the region is certainly the most dangerous zones in the world with almost all states confronting one another not to forget Israel as the main actor.

It is also known to all parties and those with a slight idea all over the world that Israel’s benefits are of crucial importance to the USA, gendarme of the world for ages and even this fact alone has been more than enough to keep the turmoil alive and active all the time. Then again, we also need to remember the irrevocable interest of the USA regarding the ever so rich energy sources offered by the region.

Turkey which is located in the region with the strongest prospects of becoming a truly sovereign powerful state to the extent of exposing a threat of competition for the USA (as well as some other western countries such as Germany) has surely been paying the bill put on the table by the superpowers led by the USA, for this positioning in the region.

This is not to say that the turbulence Turkey has been in for quite a while now can and should only be related to the benefits of the superpowers in the region and consequences thereof. It is fact that Turkey has been governed by a very incapable administration and the authority has made major and even crucial mistakes both in the country and on the international level making the democracy hit rock bottom again, after many years and painting a picture of concern and fear that the country would be taken over by an authoritarian single man regime.

Most people are aware that the reason for this bad administration damaging the country both economically and to be much more important politically, does not relate to lack of competence only. It has to do with the party in power for over a decade now.

Coming back to the question “where Turkey is going?” a great majority of the citizens mostly modern (secular and democratic) are badly concerned that the language and many practices exercised by the government could lead the country to a civil war, eventually. Because, the main reason Turkey has stayed out of all turbulences for such a long time is no doubt the secular regime and practices introduced by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (the founding leader of Turkey) and his team at the time of the establishment of the Republic. If the ruling party fails to ignore this fact any longer as the picture shows now, the sectarian conflicts between different religious groups (such as Sunni crowds and Alevis who are not as many in number) could turn out to be a big problem for the country on top of the already existing Kurdish issue and the terror groups.

The picture is so frightening as the country could have to face domestic turmoil on top of the conflicts with the neighboring countries and in fact this has partly been the situation in the recent months, as terror groups have staged many severe acts in the country causing hundreds of civilian deaths.

It is good to hear now that the administration has decided (and no doubt had) to change its foreign policy drastically, putting an end to its dream of playing the big brother in the region and going back to its traditional policy of “peace at home peace in the world”. Only ifTurkey sticks to this statement making up for its damaged relations with Israel, Egypt and Russia to be in the first place, it will have the chance of reverting to its local issues to deal with them in full force. This is not to forget that Turkey needs to accept and digest its defeat in terms of followed/preferred political strategies and preferences in Syria where President Assad has obviously been able stand against several imported and organized terror groups as well as  the intervention from some other global powers.

It may sounds really strange but “sometimes when we think we have lost, we have won much more, on the contrary”.. But it is all about which window we look through, really.. We wish and hope that the Turkish administration has finally realized it is time to look through a different window, rather than sticking to the strategy of playing power games for one reason or the other.

Editor