In Turkey, democracy has always been perceived as merely changing the government through elections. The act of holding elections, regardless of the conditions under which they are conducted or the boundaries set by the ruling power, has been considered sufficient. A clear example is the dismissal of the results of the June 7, 2015 elections, followed by a bloody period that led to the November 3, 2015 elections. This can be viewed as a fraudulent referendum. This perspective stems from the deeply ingrained reverence for the state, where society and individuals are seen as insignificant and valueless in the face of state decisions.
The phrase “If the homeland is at stake, everything else is secondary” is essentially the Turkish version of Dostoevsky’s famous quote, “If God does not exist, everything is permissible.” For a devout person, the fear of God is the only deterrent from committing evil or sinful acts. In Turkish, this can be translated as “If the homeland or state is at stake, everything is permissible.”
The key issue here is: Who determines the interests and objectives of the homeland and the state? According to the founding ideology loudly defended by secularist opposition figures on television, it cannot be society or its elected representatives. This has always been determined by security bureaucrats and the interest groups organized around them.
The regime that we once referred to as military tutelage is now directed by a hegemonic power that includes, albeit in a weakened capacity is military bureaucracy. The sociological structure of society is also being shaped accordingly. Observing how the advanced educational institutions established by Abdülhamid for military competition with the West eventually transformed into forces that altered the regime, the state succeeded in reducing universities to a level below even Western high schools. Academia was feared as a power by the founding will, which is why, for instance, no rector who lacked the approval of the military and intelligence services could ever head Istanbul University, a state-prioritized institution. The regime didn’t stop there; it completely dismantled primary education, which had already been hollowed out since the September 12 coup. In the near future, we can foresee that no young person in Turkey who does not graduate from private or minority schools will be accepted into Western higher education institutions.
The result is a societal sociology that unquestioningly accepts the dictates of state representatives as though they were divine commands. This explains the confusion caused by MHP Chairman Devlet Bahçeli shaking hands with DEM deputies in Parliament and his call to PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan.
This is because society has been shaped to believe that there is no Kurdish issue, that Turks and Kurds are equal, that racism is a disease unique to the West, and that Turks are the most tolerant people in the world. This mindset dominates not only the AKP but also the CHP, which is guided by the nationalist mentality. The strongest opposition to Bahçeli’s Turkish-style Kurdish initiative comes from the CHP base, demonstrating this point.
As such, the heavy majority of society, regardless of whether they are religious or secularist, does not view the inhumane and unlawful harsh isolation imposed on Abdullah Öcalan as a problem. Severe sanctions against members of the Gülen movement are similarly unimportant. The imprisonment of 80-year-old Melek İpek despite serious health issues, or the arrest of hundreds of people who try to help impoverished and starving Gülen members as “terrorists” with reverse-handcuffs, doesn’t even make the news. The natural consequence of worshipping the state is the uncritical acceptance of the demonization of those in power and the support for any unlawful practices against them.
Consequently, the actions of this regime are legitimized in part by labeling them as “FETÖ tactics” or “FETÖ practices.” Even opposition figures on secularist channels close to the CHP, who occasionally feel compelled to question the truths of July 15, accept the coup attempt as a “FETÖ” coup, both to secure themselves against the regime and as an inevitable effort to embrace the state and its narrative.
The most tragic reality this reveals is the disconnection of Turkey, along with the entire Islamic world, from contemporary civilization. While the modern world, particularly the West, is advancing in fields ranging from artificial intelligence to space exploration (despite its drift away from democratic values toward elite governance), Turkey’s pride in unmanned aerial vehicles stands out as a clear indication of its situation. Another indicator is the ability of a small country like Israel, with open American support, to dominate millions of Muslims.
In short, Turkey has entered a prolonged period of stagnation, and when it emerges from this dark tunnel, there may be nothing left to repair. The militarization of social issues, particularly the Kurdish issue, is likely to lead to unforeseeable consequences. For the regime, the Kurdish issue is both a tool to suppress demands for democracy and law and an existential problem. It is clear that a state tradition based on violence and annihilation, led by the darkest and most reactionary segments of society, has embarked on an irreversible path.
