INSIGHT (more) - TURKEY - Uighur reaction and EU membership

INSIGHT (more) - TURKEY - Uighur reaction and EU membership


in addition to what i sent earlier (below), followed up with source again this afternoon. This is what we discussed...

Turkey's reaction to the Uighur riots is likely being driven by Turkish FM Davutoglu. Davutoglu has an Islamist vision for Turkey. he agrees with Sam Huntington that you have these religious civilizations, but that it is Islam that will win in the end against the West. He doesn't think Turkey can ever be 'Western' - it is Muslim first and foremost. So, in the case of China or Gaza, this is about non-Muslims killing Muslims, and that's what makes his boil blood (muslims killing muslims in Sudan or wherever else doesn't matter, you wont hear a word then). On a less personal level, this is about Turkey spreading its appeal in the Islamic world, or at least in its periphery.

A There is also this concept of Econo-Islamism -- look at who are the top 50 wealthiest Turkish businessmen today now compared to 10 years ago and you can see the business lobby for the AKP agenda. That said, the Islamist agenda can also interfere with the economic vision. LIke in this case, Turkey had an interest in expanding trade with China, but the religion came first and now relations between Turkey and China are going way south over this. I asked why Turkey keeps pushing so hard for EU membership when France and Germany have already shut the door.

He said the AKP does not truly want EU membership, nor do they think they can get it. There was a shift a few years back where the AKP leadership did not see Turkey integrating as seamlessly with Europe as was previously thought, especially when things like the headscarf and now the niqab ban have come up. The reason they keep pushing for this is branding. The
ruling AKP party brands itself as the anti-Justice (former ruling) party. They are everything that the Justice party was not, so this AKP is pro-EU, pro-US, pro-business, etc. If the AKP gives up on the EU membership bid, not only do they lose face but they also are afraid of losing US support.

There is deep paranoia within the AKP leadership over this. The EU bid gives them that Western identity to balance against the Islamist vision. If the AKP becomes purely Islamist and starts acting a lot more like Russia (in terms of power consolidation) or Iran (in terms of religious vision), Turkey fears US will abandon it. This fear is less than what it used to be as Turkey feels a bit more confident know, but this is what frames their thinking. It also help Turkey balance between the West and the Russians and have an excuse to not commit to Nabucco. We also continued discussion of Russia summit. He said something about Obama staying up in his room wth the family during the reception. If putin skipped out and Obama didn't go or left early, that's pretty telling...

PUBLICATION: background/analysis
ATTRIBUTION: Turkish source
SOURCE DESCRIPTION: Prominent DC-Based Turkish think tanker; extremely
well connected inside Turkey to AKP, military, both secularists and
Islamists, PUK and KDP in Iraq, Gulen movement; advisor for Turkey to
Pentagon, State dept, etc.
SOURCEA A RELIABILITY:A A A-B
ITEM CREDIBILITY: 1-2 A 
SPECIAL HANDLING: n/a

** My note -- I think we have to reassess our understanding of Turkey's resurgence. It really isn't as simple as Turkey just spreading influence in all its old stomping grounds and having all these options at hand. There is a big difference between what Turkey is capable of doing in the Arab/Islamic world and what it is capable of doing in the former Soviet/communist space. This is complicated by the AKP's Islamist agenda.

You are right that Turkey's relationship with Azerbaijan has gone way south. But it isn't just due to Armenia. The rift goes much, much deeper than that. Armenia is more like the straw that broke the camel's back. Azerbaijan does not see eye to eye with the AKP vision of Turkey. They are asking themselves what happened to the secularist Kemalist model from before? Post-Soviet collapse, you would have any Azerbaijani pledging support for turkey and going to war on their Turkic brethren's behalf. Not any longer. A big part of the reason for this is the Gulen movement.

A  my note: A backgrounder on the Gulen movement found in a piece i wrote recently
--A http://www.stratfor.com/analysis/20090520_turkey_judiciary_and_countrys_identity_crisis

Fethullah Gulen leads a Turkish-based Islamist movement that is staunchly opposed to military's secularist agenda and envisions Turkey as a nation being born again as an Islamist power. The important thing here is that the Gulen movement provides the political base for the AKP and uses the AKP as its platform to spread an Islamist agenda. It's a very symbiotic
relationship. Gulen movement is run from DC (I'm getting to know these guys better and will be attending their events). They have a ton of money coming in and are very centrally coordinated.

Someone who was appointed to lead up the Gulen movement in Australia can be called back within days and reappointed to a post in Kazakhstan. Gulen has huge influence and control over Turkey's state intelligence, police, education and media. They are building schools, creating new media outlets, etc. all over the Caucasus and Central Asia. They want to fill the communist/post-Soviet space. They literally go to places like Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, etc. and tell the locals that they have never known true Islam, and so therefore they should follow the Gulen example.

A  Now this is something that REALLY pisses a lot of people off. Particularly Azerbaijan. (aside -- the wives of teh Turkish and Az presidents loathe each other and are the exact opposites-- Gul's wife is headscarf-wearing Muslim conservative, Az pres's wife is totally liberal and European). Azerbaijanis are Shiites and extremely liberal/secular. They do not like the idea of these Turks coming in and telling them how to become better Muslims. It's a direct insult and Aliyev is fighting to counter this.

What's more disturbing is that there has been an increase of Shiite to Sunni conversions orchestrated by the Gulenites in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan does not trust Turkey and they are fine with looking at other options to send their energy and build their foreign relations, like with Russia. This is not the tight Turkic relationship as was seen before. Same thing in Central Asia - Turkey is struggling there as well. The Central Asians do not identify with the AKP/Gulenite Islamic vision. Karimov in
particular is really feeling threatened by this pan-Turkic/Islamist movement.

It isn't so much that that the AKP is using the Gulen movement to spread its influence directly. there is some coordination, but this primarily driven by the Gulen movement itself, and the AKP, though it has to try and maintain some balance witht he military and moderates in its political camp, still relies on the Gulen movement for its political base. Gulen has a lot of big business backers and thus the money to aggressively pursue this agenda.

A 
Yes, Turkey is trying to expand, but its success right now depends on the region. The AKP strongly identifies with the Arab/Islamic world and they have heavy influence in this region (which works out well for US). But in the Caucasus and Central Asia, Turkey is also hitting walls and the Islamist agenda is getting in the way. Gulen movement is very powerful. Look at this way. The Turkish military sees Turks beyond its borders -- people that Turkey must defend.

The AKP sees Muslims. Very different perspectives on how Turkey should grow and expand. This type of growth takes time and Turkey still has work to do in consolidating at home. This is where Erdogan takes hints from Putin in cracking down on media, judiciary, etc. It's a process. A Source and I agreed that down the line, when Turkey is more secure at home and can expand more competently, then it can find itself in trouble with the Russians. For now, Turkey has no interest in conflicting iwth the Russians. they will tell them what they want to hear and try to play all these different sides.

A 
What is interesting to me is that Turkey's economic interests seem secondary to the Turkic/Islamist agenda. A Reliable energy supply form Iraq/Iran isn't coming online any time soon. Azerbaijan is turning away toward Russia. The Europeans dont trust turkey as a transit state any longer. Turkey is also ready to condemn China over Uighurs with little regard for plan to increase trade ties. But Turkey doesn't have unlimited options. They do have influence in many places, but the Arab/Islamic world is where they have the best chance of success. The former Soviet space is where they are fumbling.