Turkish Republic and The Others

I would like to present a different evaluation these days when we celebrate the 98th anniversary of the Republic. There is an evaluation method called benchmarking in business science. Comparison with Turkish. In this method, you compare and evaluate your own position by looking at other similar businesses. In this article, we will make a political process benchmarking of the Republic in a sense.

We will also reveal the similarities and divergences of countries such as Greece, Italy, France and Egypt, with which we live and interact in the Mediterranean geography, by considering the 98-year processes between 1923-2021.

Spain

Spain, which did not participate in the First and Second World Wars, struggled with military interventions, civil wars and separatist movements in politics during this period. After the Spanish Civil War, in which 500 thousand people died between 1936-1939, Spain lived under the dictatorship of General Franco for 36 years between 1939-1975, and after the death of Franco in 1976, the King came to the throne. Between 1976 and 1981, the political administration pioneered the transition of Spain to a democratic regime without resorting to violence. It faced an unsuccessful military coup for the last time in 1981. He tried to solve the separatist Catalan movement and especially the terrorist acts of the Basques within his political system. Spain, which was excluded by the Western bloc during the dictatorship, became a member of the UN in 1955, NATO in 1982, and the EU in 1988, and completed its democratic development with the support of international organizations.

Greece

As a result of the failure of the military occupation movement in Anatolia in 1922, the political administration changed. As a result of the exchange with Turkey in 1923, 1.5 million Greeks in Turkey and 450 thousand Turks in Greece were displaced and a major migration problem was experienced. Between 1924 and 1935, Greece was governed by a republican regime. After the confusion could not be resolved, in 1935, with a referendum, Greece passed back to the Constitutional Monarchy. In 1936, the King of Greece appointed Metaxas as Prime Minister. Metaxas dissolved parliament and was made Prime Minister for life in 1938. Metaxas ruled the country as a fascist dictatorship until his death in 1941. The years between the two wars between 1923 and 1940 were a period of political and economic uncertainties for Greece, like all other European countries. II. Great losses were experienced in Greece, which was occupied first by Italy and then by Germany during World War II. The post-war civil war between 1946 and 1949 also destabilized Greece in the post-war period. After the civil war, there was an improvement in both the political system and the economy, but these efforts were interrupted by a military dictatorship between 1967-1974. Since 1974, the political environment has evolved into democratization. Greece completed its institutionalization as a full member of the European Economic Community in 1981, but this time it was shaken by the economic crises it faced in the 2000s.

Italy

Italy turned to fascism between 1922 and 1943 under Mussolini's leadership. II. After its defeat in World War II, the country suffered a great depression. On January 1, 1948, a new constitution was ratified by popular vote and a republic was proclaimed. Italy became one of the founding members of NATO in 1949 and of the European Union in 1957. In the 1970s, it was the subject of terrorist acts by radical left movements. There was a serious mafia and corruption process in the country. Economic crises and political instability followed one after another. Italy, whose economy has been relatively strong in the last 30 years, has struggled with corruption through the judiciary and an institutional democratic system has been established in the country in the EU process.

France

The winner of World War I, France II. During World War II, it was occupied by the German armies between 1940 and 1944. With the Normandy landing, Germany began to withdraw from France. In 1956, the French colonial system in North Africa came to an end. After de Gaulle was elected president in 1958, the 5th Republic period began. France is a founding member of NATO, the Council of Europe and the European Economic Community.

Egypt

After the Sultanate of Egypt declared its independence from the United Kingdom unilaterally in 1922, it came under the rule of the kingdom. In 1923, the new constitution came into force, establishing the King as a bicameral legislature and making Egypt a constitutional monarchy. However, political instability continued. He was in constant contact with foreign interventions, especially in the Suez Canal and Sudan issues. The Free Officers Movement, which overthrew the kingdom in a coup in 1952 and seized power, filled the power vacuum that became increasingly evident in Egypt. A republic was proclaimed in 1953. The Republic of Egypt, proclaimed in 1953, merged with the Syrian Republic in 1958 to form the United Arab Republic. United Arab Republic meat ended in 1961. Egypt fought Israel three times in 1948, 1967 and 1973. He made a peace treaty with Israel in 1978. Anwar Sadat, who made the deal, was assassinated by radical Islamists. Hosni Mubarak came to power and ruled the country with a dictatorship. In 2011, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigned due to mass street demonstrations. Morsi, who is known for his loyalty to the Muslim Brotherhood organization, came to power with elections instead of Hosni Mubarak, but the army seized power in 2013.

The internal and external threats that these countries have faced since the early 1920s are summarized in the table below.

When we look at the table, we see that France, Italy and Greece were almost re-established by breaking away from their historical processes in this century. Turkey and Spain did not experience this drift. Egypt, on the other hand, is still experiencing an unstable political process. Turkey did not experience any internal or external war during the period. While its counterparts were dealing with wars and occupations, Turkey strengthened the structural foundations of the new Republic. The effect of Turkey's non-participation in World War II is clearly visible. Successful management of the foreign policy, which was motto as "Peace at home, peace in the world", made Turkey a basin of peace in its region until the 2000s. Being a member of international organizations such as the Council of Europe and NATO, and efforts towards the EU have had a separate empowering effect.

What is remarkable is that there are elements of economic and political instability in all of these countries. It can be argued that political instability is inherent in this geography, except for the Pax Romana and Pax Ottoman periods, which were imposed by sovereign powers such as the Romans or the Ottomans. However, countries that are included in a wider political structure such as the EU process are more successful in overcoming instability. Considering that it is natural for the systems in the countries to produce instability due to their geographical location and geopolitical importance in the Mediterranean basin, we can say that management approaches and leaders can also make a difference. As a matter of fact, when we evaluate for Turkey, we see that the policies carried out by both M. Kemal Atatürk and İsmet İnönü contributed significantly to the institutionalization of the new Republic during the turbulent times when other countries were dealing with serious problems.

As a result; The solidity of the founding philosophy of the Turkish Republic and the adoption of the values ​​of the Republic by the people make Turkey different from other countries in its region. There will always be problems, but strengthening regional and international cooperation abroad and crowning the Republic with democracy at home will offer proactive solutions to Turkey's problems in the second century.