Reacciones Químicas del Cacao

Understanding conditions out of which the Kemalist ideology was born, the process whereby it gained prominence as well as the course it took to consolidate itself in the early decades of newly created republic are important to elaborate and understand for there is a strong relationship between the aforementioned aspects of Kemalism and the manner in which the Turkish foreign policy was shaped and implemented in the decades during and after the time of Mustafa Kemal, the founder and the ideological father of the Republic of Turkey.

Mustafa Kemal was a prominent soldier, who served in the ever crumbling Ottoman Empire. More importantly he took part in the Turco-Italian War of 1911-1912, the Balkan Wars of 1912-1913, and World War I that sealed the fate of the empire as well as the subsequent War of Turkish Independence after which he became the sole leader of Turkey.

Several ideologies surfaced aspiring to save the empire from collapsing. The relevance and fate of these ideologies were largely determined by the political and military developments that took place in the last decades of the empire. For instance the Ottomanism was proposed to create a feeling of unity among the Ottoman subjects

124 _{Laciner, From Kemalism to Ozalism, p.127.} 125 _{Laciner, From Kemalism to Ozalism, p. 128.}

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(especially Muslims and Christians) by elevating the status of the latter to the former throughout the empire. Although this idea gained prominence after the Greek independence in 1832 to prevent other non-Muslim entities rising and declaring independence, the increasing Russian, British and French intervention in the Ottoman domestic affairs, (especially with regards to Bulgarians and Armenians as well as the territories lost in the Balkans), rendered the Ottomanist ideology irrelevant. The Ottoman statesmen turned to Islam, thus pan-Islamism, in their attempt to gain the support of the Muslim subjects especially in the Middle East, which came to be the last remaining territory outside of Anatolia, (today’s Turkey). However, as was the case with the Greeks, Armenians and other non-Muslim subjects, the Muslims of the Middle East were not immune to the European meddling. The rise of the Arab nationalistic sentiments among the Muslims in the Middle East, especially instigated by the British and the French and the subsequent Arab revolt against the Ottoman Empire surely showed that the efforts to promote the concept of Ummah, the unity among Muslims, was pointless.

The apparent failure of the Ottomanism and pan-Islamism justified the rise of the pro-western, secular/positivist and nationalistic pan-Turkist ideology. Having lost the Balkan and Middle Eastern territories, for the Ottoman Turks, Anatolia was left to be the only remaining territorial entity on which they could survive. In other words, Anatolia represented the maximum extent of the territorial retreat. It is this point that Mustafa Kemal gained prominence. He and his comrades not only fought against the invading forces of Britain, France, Italy, Greece, Russia and Armenia, they embarked on a struggle against the Ottoman sultan, who they accused of being a collaborator and traitor in the face of the invasion of Anatolia, the only remaining territory for the Turks.

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The end of the World War I sealed the fate of the 600 year old Ottoman Empire. It is this point that Mustafa Kemal rose to prominence by cleaning the Turkish heartland of the invading forces after the Turkish War of Independence and establishing the Republic out of the ashes of the imploded Ottoman Empire. His policies in the aftermath of the declaration of the republic were reflective of his world view as well as his experiences when he was an officer in the Ottoman Army. For once, he wanted a clean slate and completely detached the newly established state from its predecessor. This required radical decisions and their implementation in the same manner they had been envisaged. Not only was the state to be created but also the society, (which had inherited the Ottoman past), had to be molded and modified into the newly created state and its machinery. Therefore, anything reminiscence of the Ottoman was to be eradicated. The influence of Islam in state and society was reduced to the lowest level possible. The caliphate and monarchy were abolished. Secularism became one of the most important pillars of the Kemalist worldview. This Kemalist ideology impacted the foreign policy. The perception that the Arabs sided with the invading forces during the WWI as well as the perception that the Middle East represented backwardness and Islam created two of the Kemalist foreign policy principles; to remain distant from the Middle East as much as possible and to not conduct foreign policy based on religious affiliation. The extent of Turkey’s relations with the Middle East, therefore, was limited to establishing defensive pacts; such was the case with the Sadabad Pact of 1937. As Larrabee put; “… more than half a century under the rule of Kemalists, Turkey behaved almost literally as if the Middle East did not exist. That region represented an unhappy association with Turkey's past.”126

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This is in conjunction with another important aspect of the Turkish foreign policy; overwhelming pro-Westernism - the new republic and its people ought to solely pursue Western/European values, which would promote advancement and prosperity in Turkey. The Kemalist paradigm, therefore, staunchly aspired for Turkey to be part of the West. Turkey’s desire to become a member of the European Union and the NATO membership, although the Soviet threat played a role to a great extent, can be cited as notable examples of this aspect of Turkish foreign policy.

Furthermore, despite the victory in the war of independence, the newly established republic was rather frail due to the devastation of WWI, therefore M. Kemal focused on reinforcing its existence through international recognition, which led to a very cautious, status quo oriented foreign policy understanding. In fact, it can be said that M. Kemal spent most of his energy to domestically consolidate the foundations of the republic as well as to preserve the hard earned borders of the country.

Finally, the painful experiences of WWI traumatized the Turkish policy makers and people, which generated the perception that Turkey is surrounded, from within and abroad, by enemies. They, who have intended to destroy the Turkish nation before, are relentless in their aspirations and if the Turkish state is rendered weak, especially militarily, they would not hesitate to accomplish their unfinished task of destroying the Turkish nation. The Sevres Syndrome, in other words, led to the securitization of Turkish foreign policy throughout the decades to come. This notion later was perpetuated by the Turkish Armed Forces and its intervention in civilian politics was thereby encouraged and justified by the Kemalist elite.

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All the above mentioned considered, M. Kemal and the new Kemalist elite crafted a new foreign policy culture whereby Turkey is to be part of the west, keeps its relations with the Middle East and the Muslim world minimum, remains reserved, status quo oriented and reactive. Such new policy culture called for a state machine that would ensure its consolidation and perpetuation.

The next chapter will examine the components of this machinery and how it created and maintained the fundamentals of the Kemalist paradigm in Turkey.

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CHAPTER 4. THE INSTITUTIONALIZATION of THE KEMALIST