In the past decade, the U.S., or the West in general, has starkly increased the number of articles on Turkey that potshot President Erdogan. Despite all the covert and overt interventions across various fields, we witness them uncontrollably hurling insults at Erdogan with a rage stemming from unsuccessful attempts to overthrow him. Even though they have accused us of everything under the sun since the times of the Ottoman, they have not been able to reach their goal. On the other hand, articles trying to comprehend Turkey’s ascension are also on the rise.
The West has lost its ideological superiority
In times of old, when the West had still retained its ideological upper hand, it was possible for them to apply pressure from many different areas, because there were institutional structures just hankering to be led down the garden path. Contrary to popular belief, these very structures had attained a certain weight in civilian arenas. With the ease afforded to them by their infiltration of state institutions, they could swiftly take action and render the institution of politics open to intervention. We also need to consider the West’s ideological superiority in terms of mentality. Terms and concepts marshaled from the Ottoman era prepared the foundation of imperialism’s ideological assault. Our mental world was left defenseless. As they were questioning Turkey in the shadow of certain concepts, internal civilian structures consolidated their dominance. This being a constantly reviving system was reflected in the form of a “deadlock.”
However, Erdogan broke the vicious circle. In the last decade, the system generated for us by the West was unable to revive itself. There was no point in hurling all the accusations they have been amassing from the Ottoman era at us today. Negative terms like “despotism” are being used in spades today as well. For example, the words “sultan” or “palace” have been especially utilized for their connotations, however, the fact that these concepts have not been as effective as they wished means that this time, they were left playing in the sandbox alone. They no longer have to power to bring to power and depose of whomever they wish. The most important reason for this is their losses in the civilian arena. It’s a safe bet to say that they no longer have intellectual superiority.
The elites ostracizing Erdogan
What’s striking here is that in this battle, the conservative, secular, and right and left elites are nowhere to be found. Everyone’s talking about Erdogan’s isolation. It is very clear that both the idea of Western supremacy has been destroyed and the elites within the country have not been able to neutralize politics through civilian institutions. However, it is possible to ascertain that Erdogan is not alone. He has resisted with the support of the nation, refusing to bow down. If things stayed the same, the probability of breaking the resistance somewhere along the line is very high. Turkey’s counter-attack and breaking the grip of terrorism play a major role in altering the balance. This is how we can consider the developments following the 2016 coup. Turkey has ceased to be open to all kinds of influences and has established a new balance in a short time. The Organization of Turkish States should also be considered within this framework.
A colonialist mindset against financial independence
Erdogan’s talk about financial independence and his mention of the colonialists within is significant. Turkey is cracking the colonial system those within and abroad are trying to keep alive. This system is built on the strategy of influence and manipulation, and had sunk its teeth deep into the country. It is necessary to know that the system has penetrated deep within over hundreds of years. It is critical for Erdogan to define the period by drawing attention to the opposition against economic independence and the mandate mentality.
They lost their cultural superiority
We know that the concept of “cultural superiority” has popped up quite frequently on the agenda. This has no objective criteria. However, when compared to the past, we can see that efforts to use old cliches against us since the times of the Ottomans have all proved futile. Despite all the pressure piled on civilian institutions, they have failed to reach their desired result. In the past, they used to gain superiority by utilizing the shortcomings of our mental world, using them against us. We can say that the West has lost its revolutionary character, as well as its transformative power. They also want to overthrow Erdogan, but they have no revolutionary ideas.