Importance of Natural and Artificial Borders in terms of National Defense and Security

Turkey has land borders with eight countries. Of these, the borders of Georgia, Armenia and Nakhchivan (Azerbaijan) were drawn with the Moscow Treaty of 16 March 1921 and the Kars Treaty of 13 October 1921. The border between Turkey and Iran is IV. It was determined by the Treaty of Kasr-ı Şirin signed on May 17, 1639, during the reign of Murat.
This limit hasn't changed much since then, with some minor tweaks. The Iranian border took its current form with an agreement between the two countries on January 23, 1932. With this agreement, Kotur Town in Turkish territory was given to Iran and Little Ararat Mountain in Iranian territory was given to Turkey.
The border with Syria, one of the two states in the south of Anatolia, was determined by the Ankara Agreement of October 20, 1921, and then took its current form with the annexation of Hatay to the territory of the country in 1939. The Iraqi border was determined by the Ankara Agreement of 1926.
The border of Bulgaria, one of the two neighboring countries to our Thrace lands, with Turkey was determined by the Istanbul Treaty of 29 September 1913, which was signed after the Balkan War. These boundaries have survived to the present day without any significant changes. The border with Greece was determined by the Treaty of Lausanne on 24 July 1924.
Looking at the aforementioned borders of Turkey, the first thing that draws attention is that the Iranian border has survived to the present day without much change, although it is the oldest border. So the Iranian border is the most stable and oldest among our borders. It can be said that the main reason for this is that it is a natural border. Because the Iranian border; It passes through the peaks of the mountains that separate the Van Lake basin and the Urmiye Lake basin.
When the natural border is mentioned, only high mountain ranges should not come to mind. Natural barriers such as seas, lakes, great deserts and rivers all show natural boundary characteristics. These obstacles need not be impossible or very difficult to cross. It is sufficient for them to lie along a line and have an integrity that separates the two countries from each other. Because natural obstacles are not only physical but also psychological obstacles.
In fact, the psychological disability of a disability is more important than the physical disability. Because no obstacle is insurmountable, no matter how big it is physically. What makes it insurmountable is the disability it creates in the minds. For this reason, throughout history, many states have always tried to base their borders on natural obstacles, but have also taken the necessary measures to turn them into a psychological barrier that is believed to be insurmountable.
For example, the northern borders of the Roman Empire in Europe were generally based on the Rhine and Danube Rivers. The southern borders are based on deserts. Despite these natural barriers, limits are; It was under constant surveillance with forts, line roads and military garrisons. Thus, people or armies who passed the physical barrier could not overcome other measures.
However, even without complementary measures, a physical disability is more or less a psychological disability in people's minds. This psychological border effect is also reflected in the treaties in which our current borders are drawn. For example, part of our border with Iraq is based on the Hezil Stream, which is an easily crossable barrier.
Likewise, Arpacay, which is not difficult to cross, forms part of the border between Armenia and Turkey. The Aras River, which has a similar structure, forms both the Armenia-Nakhchivan border and the Iran-Azerbaijan border. Although the border between Turkey and Greece in the Treaty of Lausanne was crossed many times throughout history, it was drawn on the basis of the Meriç River.
However, it is not possible to find such natural barriers to establish boundaries everywhere. In such cases, mankind has tried to provide the benefit of natural borders by creating artificial barriers. So much so that some states have built artificial barriers along their entire borders. Thus, they were able to provide the disability that natural limits create in the brains with these permanent artificial barriers.
The most well-known of the borders made of artificial barriers are the walls built by the Roman Empire in Great Britain and the Great Wall of China built by the Chinese to stop the Turkish and Mongol invasions.
On the island of Great Britain, both Emperor Hadrian and Emperor Antony Pius built defensive walls stretching from the westernmost to the easternmost part of the island to protect the Roman province.
The Chinese, on the other hand, started to build a wall on the northern borders of the country to stop the raids of the Hun Turks, and then they extended this wall to cover the entire northern border against the incursions of other Turkish states and Mongols.
The borders determined by building a wall in this way should not be understood as a line determined only to prevent external enemies from entering the territory of the country. These walls also limit the entry of foreign civilians into the country. On the other hand, they also act as an obstacle for the country's own citizens to leave the country.
It is understood that Hadrian's Wall and the Great Wall of China were built mostly to prevent foreign civilians and foreign armies from entering the country, but there were also times that the walls were built only to prevent their own citizens from leaving the country. For example, the purpose of the Berlin Wall, which was started to be built by East Germany on August 13, 1961, was to prevent Germans who did not want to live under the communist regime from escaping to West Germany, and this wall served this purpose until it was demolished on November 9, 1989.
In addition, border regions have also been used as a place of exile and punishment throughout history. For example, the Emperors of China sent the captive rulers of the principalities they destroyed at the end of long wars to the Great Wall of China to exile and punish them in order to ensure the unity of the state.
The Ottomans also applied the same method. Many were sent to remote and remote border areas as punishment. For example, 95% of the southern part of Libya is covered with deserts and Fezzan, one of the three states that make up Libya today, was used as a place of exile. In fact, probably because the exiles to this region continued for a very long time, in our language "I will deport you to Fizan!" There is a phrase. Today we "were exiled" and so on. The terms generally refer to assignment to border areas, particularly those close to the eastern and southeastern borders, which have more adverse conditions of deprivation.
Tall and large artificial barriers built along the border have other purposes and effects. For example, such great obstacles have been effective as a means of propaganda showing the greatness and grandeur of countries. The Great Wall of China has placed the image of great China in the minds of the steppe nations. The same is true for Hadrian's Wall.
However, artificial obstacles do not need to be very large, lofty and difficult to cross, as in natural obstacles. Simpler obstacles that run along the entire border can also make a big impact. As long as these obstacles have a psychological disability. If the psychological barriers are destroyed, a physical handicap does not have a great disability. As a matter of fact, the Great Wall of China was overcome hundreds and even thousands of times by the Turkish and Mongolian armies when it lost its psychological disability.
The psychological effect is the strength of the country behind the border and the presence of other obstacles and strong military units deep within the border. The military power guarding the border and other natural and artificial obstacles at depth make the physical obstacle a psychological one. For this reason, no natural or artificial barrier has been used as a stand-alone border throughout history. It was tried to prevent these obstacles from being overcome by building castles, garrisons and line roads to the depths of the country.
Artificial barriers built along the border in this way have often worked. For example, in 1911, Italy landed in the Tripoli state of the Ottoman Empire, that is, in today's Libyan lands and advanced towards the interior. However, when the Ottoman army, which did not exceed 3000 people (one division), started to wage an unconventional war by drawing the local people to its side, the Italian troops could not enter the interior.
After many officers such as Atatürk and Enver Pasha went to the region secretly in civilian clothes, the business of Italy became even more difficult. However, when the Balkan War started, the officers had to return and the region was left to Italy with the Treaty of Ushi.
Despite this, the resistance continued under the leadership of the Sunusi sect, and although a small number of Ottoman officers withdrew from the region with the Armistice of Mudros signed in 1918, Italy could not fully capture the region for a long time. Moreover, Ömer Muhtar organized a new resistance movement in 1923 and inflicted heavy casualties on the Italians.
After long struggles, Italy decided to try a new method. For this purpose, starting from Egypt, he laid three or four rows of wire barriers along the entire Libyan land border, established numerous military outposts along this obstacle, and built track roads where armored vehicles patrolled. Thus, it prevented the insurgents from going out of the region when they were stuck, and prevented those who went out from entering and receiving logistical support. As a result, he captured Ömer Muhtar in 1931, who was deprived of foreign support and narrowed his field of action, and ended the resistance.
As can be seen from the historical examples we have examined so far, borders fulfill other vital functions for states as well as protecting a country from attacks by neighboring states. These functions are; to protect it from the conventional threats of neighboring countries, to prevent criminal organizations, especially terrorist organizations. It can be summarized as preventing the entry and exit of the country, and preventing the uncontrolled entry and exit of our own citizens and foreign citizens.
These considerations about borders also apply to borders today. In fact, it is much more important today to build physical barriers on the borders and turn these physical barriers into psychological barriers. Because today, although conventional threats are decreasing, it has become a very important security problem to prevent the entry and exit of terrorist organizations based in unstable regions in neighboring countries, smugglers and uncontrolled migrant convoys immigrating from countries experiencing civil war.
For example, there are millions of Syrians in Turkey, the exact number of which is not known. With the addition of Afghans, whose numbers have increased recently, to the Syrian immigrants, the country has become unable to cope with the problems created by foreign immigrants. On the other hand, PKK Terrorist Organization and some other small terrorist organizations have been carrying out actions for a long time by entering our country through the borders of Syria, Iran and Iraq.
These threats, which are unconventional and recently described as "hybrid", show that today's borders based on natural barriers are not very effective. On the contrary, since the Iranian border, which passes through the high mountains, cannot be fully controlled by military units, it has become a convenient transit zone rather than an obstacle for refugees, terrorists and smugglers.
The same is true for natural obstacles such as the Aegean Sea and the Meriç River. As a matter of fact, in recent years, hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants have crossed the Aegean Sea and the Meriç River in a short time with simple and small boats without having to go through the trouble of walking for days, and crossed to the lands of Greece and Bulgaria and the Aegean islands.
These developments have revealed a general tendency in many countries to close borders with artificial physical barriers. For example, Greece has started to lay new wire barriers on its border with Turkey. Israel, on the other hand, is trying to prevent Palestinians and organizations such as HAMAS from infiltrating its country by building walls of concrete blocks in some regions.
After the Syrian and Afghan influx, Turkey started to take similar measures on the Iranian and Syrian borders. This is a positive development, but it is not sufficient and sustainable. It is not enough because such obstacles can be easily crossed as long as they are not protected with enough unity and continuously. It is not sustainable because the construction of these barriers requires large financial resources. Moreover, concrete blocks cause a constant maintenance cost as they wear out in a short time due to extreme climate and weather conditions.
Against the possible attack of the Turkish army, Greece had built many irrigation canals parallel to the Turkish border from the Meriç River years ago, and the cost of these canals had exhausted most of the funds provided by the European Union. When Greece experienced a severe economic crisis in 2008, these channels could not be adequately maintained and did not work well. As a matter of fact, illegal immigrants crossing the Meriç River were able to easily pass over the bridges over these water channels and even through the canals.
Therefore, it is necessary to develop new solutions for border security. These solutions have to be inexpensive, sustainable, payable and effective. The easiest way to do this is to strengthen or improve the existing natural barriers. For the security of our eastern and southern borders, the most suitable physical barriers to be used for this purpose are rivers.
Most of the streams, streams and rivers feeding the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers originate in Turkey. Although most of them cut the border perpendicularly, there are also streams flowing parallel to the border. Turkey may build a large number of dams on these rivers at or near the border. Since these dams will fill the valleys behind them, terrorist organizations, smugglers and illegal immigrants will be deprived of the opportunity to use very large areas at and near the border.
When dams generate income through electricity generation, irrigated agriculture and fisheries, they will not only contribute to the defense of the country as an obstacle, but also contribute to the development of our country. On the other hand, in small streams where dam construction is not reasonable in terms of cost-effectiveness, simpler constructions can cover a very large area by inflating water or making ponds in streams flowing only in spring. These water reserves can also be used as a means of pressure on Middle Eastern countries suffering from water scarcity.
Regarding this issue, I made a study on the border line between Silopi and Çukurca on the map in 1994-95. According to my work; If dams, ponds and water pumps were built, the areas where terrorists and smugglers could pass were greatly reduced. Regions where water reserves will be formed These water barriers seemed much more likely to block terrorists and smugglers crossing, as there were places for terrorists to infiltrate. Moreover, if strong border posts resistant to terrorist attacks were built on the dominant hills between these swellings, ponds and dams, it would be almost impossible to cross the borders.
If we add the streams flowing parallel to the border to these, it can be better understood how effective the dam and water inflation are. However, cooperation with neighboring countries is required to build dams on the waters running parallel to the border. The current situation in Syria and Iraq does not make such a thing possible. However, concrete blocks of one meter or higher can be built on one side at certain intervals on these streams. Since these blocks will retain water, their disability can be maintained during the summer months when the water of the rivers decreases.
Another method of creating an obstacle that comes to mind is to make steep cliffs with dozers on the inward and outward facing ridges of the hills on the border. Part of the border can be closed in this way, as the steep cliffs will be very difficult obstacles to cross. As in the Meriç River region, creating high earthen embankments in the inner part of the border parallel to the border can also be used as another solution. In addition, by opening soil channels parallel to the border and giving water to these channels, disability characteristics can be increased.
Of course, these should not be enough. Border security should be strengthened by constructing concrete blocks in appropriate places, laying wire barriers, and using technological facilities such as sensors and cameras and UAVs. If this is done, physical barriers will also become psychological barriers and will bring border security to a much better level than it is today.
It is imperative that Turkey's border security be enhanced with these and other similar measures. Because the new threats emerging today will turn into much bigger threats in the future and border security will also become a domestic security issue. For this reason, Turkey will have to strengthen and protect its borders more than ever before in history. For this reason, necessary measures should be taken now.