Post #3: Nationalism and Turkey

According to Merriam-Webster, nationalism is "a feeling that people have of being loyal to and proud of their country often with the belief that it is better and more important than other countries."

In the book, The Post American World, by Fareed Zakaria, he discusses the problems of nationalism. He says as the economy rises, so does nationalism -- it is inevitable. Rather than calling it nationalism in the United States, though, we call it patriotism. Pride. We are very proud, which may make us seem more threatening to other countries. Turkey is similar in this way. Not in a way that they are patriotic, but they see themselves superior to other countries. Zakaria says on page 48, "That sense of being governed by one's 'own,' without interference, is a powerful feeling in emerging countries, especially those that were once colonies or quasi-colonies of the West."

An article by Senem Aslan, called "Different Faces of Turkish Islamic Nation," describes nationalism in Turkey. In 2013, Turkey underwent a corruption investigation into the activities of three different organizations after a phone conversation was leaked of Erdogan (their president of Turkey) and his son talking about large amounts of cash they had hidden. This exposed a conflict between the Justice and Development party (AKP) and the Gulen movement, which changed the Turkish political spectrum drastically. The Gulen movement, according to their website, is "a transnational movement inspired by teachings of scholar and theologian Fethullah Gulen. His emphasis on education, dialogue and peaceful coexistence has attracted a large number of volunteers."

From recent articles I've read, it is evident that the conflict also stems from the nature of the Turkish and Islam nationalism. Both AKP and the Gullen movement share broad principles of Muslim nationalism. Nationalism tends to stem from their Muslim religion based throughout the country. Aslan says, "It is nationalist because it imagines a Turkey-centered Muslim world but the Muslim identity is more dominant in its conception of the Turkish nation than a unique Turkish ethnic identity." The president has began to direct his speeches towards addressing the Muslim religion as a citizenship rather than a brotherhood. The aspects of their sacred religion is beginning to become more and more focused on the nationalism of their country.


According to Merriam-Webster, inequality is "an unfair situation in which some people have more rights or better opportunities than other people." Turkey tends to a great deal of inequality. Not only poverty and income levels, but towards a governmental level, as well. While difficult to obtain information about recent inequality levels in Turkey, I was able to find an article stemming back from 2014. They were reported as one of the countries with the highest level of inequality. Between 2000 and 2014, income disparity increased by 21 percent. This made Turkey the 3rd fastest deteriorating in the region at that time.

The crucial problem of inequality lies in the country's tax system. The article above describes the system as "lopsided." 10 percent of the country holds 78 percent of the entire country's wealth. Today's Zaman, a Turkish website, explains the tax system, it "draws two-thirds of its revenue from indirect taxes while collecting only a small portion of income tax from wealthier people, is blamed for Turkey's social inequality. Limited trade and labor union rights and high employment remain major issues for Turkey."

Another article addresses Turkey's gender inequality problem. Their president, Erdogan, thinks that is not of human nature for men and women to be considered equal. They rank 125th out of 140 in the gender gap index.

Unfortunately, I was unable to find any articles that conclude, or attempt to, how Turkey is working towards breaking the inequality gap. They are not. And the more I read, the more it seems it is quickly getting worse. The president does not care to better the problems, for he may be doing confidential money trading still. One article says the country is "doomed." I hope this is not true, though. Consistent research will follow and close, careful watch will educate us on what the future of Turkey holds.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage/wp/2015/02/20/different-faces-of-turkish-islamic-nationalism/

http://pomeps.org/2015/03/05/kurds-state-elites-and-patterns-of-nationhood-in-iraq-and-turkey/

http://www.todayszaman.com/business_turkeys-deep-income-inequality-persists-report_361603.html