Recently I wrote an article “Liberal Criticism of Erdoğan’s
Turkey”, which took both positive and some negative reactions from our
readers. General critics towards my article focused on the political liberalism
of Erdoğan compared to his harsh and ultra-conservative positioning in terms of
cultural and some social issues (alcohol, smoking, abortion etc.). That is why,
in this article I want to explain first what is conservatism as an ideology and
then try to assess Erdoğan’s political stance according to conservative
approach.
Conservatives, in
general, seek to preserve the traditional way of life in their societies.
Conservatives think that human beings are naturally flawed and imperfect (which
goes back to original sin) and that they should be under the control of some
social institutions and mechanisms (norms, ethics, traditions, religion etc.)
in order not to make big mistakes. Conservatism basically claims that radical attempts
to change human nature or transform society are foolish and dangerous. Thus,
conservatives are strongly against radical changes such as revolution. We
should also mention that conservatism historically developed as a response to
liberal radicalism. We could easily see the negative consequences of liberal
radicalism from the French Revolution (1789) and the reign of terror. For
conservatives, the role of government is to restrain the passions that lead to
conflict among individuals and societies. Edmund Burke, the founder of
conservatism, developed his views in reaction to the French Revolution
(1788-1789) and argued that French revolutionaries had overly optimistic view
of human nature and a dangerous propensity for unrestrained liberty. For
conservatives unlike liberals, the society is not consisted of free and
atomistic individuals but rather the society is like an organic living creature.
Conservatives believe that the society is an intergenerational partnership that
is rooted in customs and traditions, which should be kept carefully since traditions
represent the historical accumulated wisdom of the society. The role of
government for conservatives is to prevent people from acting on whims and
impulses. For a conservative, government restraints are necessary to ensure the
social peace. Conservatives advocate a gradual change instead of a sudden one,
in other words reform and innovation instead of revolution. Conservatives
welcome private property because in their view property and richness make
people more attached to the system. Conservatives' main reaction to
socialist/communist movements is derived from their disagreements over
progress, perfectibility and planning. Although nowadays there are different
versions of conservatism such as traditional conservatives, individualist
conservatives, neo-conservatives and religious right, conservatism is still an
important and influential political ideology in the political spectrum.
If we try to analyze
Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan from a conservative point of view,
we can easily notice that Erdoğan represents the harshest version of
conservatism (religious right) in terms of social and cultural values. Erdoğan’s
reactions to alcohol, smoking, sexual desires and abortion are clear examples of his
social and cultural conservatism. However, Erdoğan’s political positioning strangely
represents the exact opposite of what conservatives claim. It is a fact that
Erdoğan has been changing and redesigning Turkish political system in the last
decade with an enormous speed as if he is trying to catch a train. This is the exact
opposite of conservative stance against rapid and revolutionary change. Erdoğan
is now trying to establish a new Presidential system instead of Turkey’s classical
Parliamentary system inherited from the old Ottoman times starting from 1876, the
first Constitutional period. Erdoğan and his party (Justice and Development
Party – JDP) has been making very defiant openings in terms of Turkey’s Kurdish
question and PKK problem. In fact, the government has been conducting so-called
“peace talks” with PKK, a clear revolutionary step in Turkish political history,
not a conservative one. Erdoğan and his party’s courageous challenge to Turkish
Armed Forces starting from the troublesome President of the Republic elections
of 2007 also represents the political revolutionary aspect of JDP.
In that sense, we can
conclude that Erdoğan is a cultural conservative, not a political one.
Politically Erdoğan and his party is somehow revolutionary and ultra-liberal and
this rapid transformation of the Turkish society, which reminds me the famous saying
“All that is solid melts into the air”, makes Turkish people and especially
people from oppositional parties very uncomfortable and unsafe. Maybe what
Turkey needs a reformist liberal government that would not act like superstar
sprinter Usain Bolt, but rather like a marathon racer such as Haile
Gebrselassie. Otherwise, the country always faces with the risks of political
instabilities and polarization which could lead to many new social problems.
Dr. Ozan ÖRMECİ
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Ball,
Terence & Dagger, Richard. 2011. Political
Ideologies and the Democratic Ideal (8/E), Pearson
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