Geo-philosophy and Geo-political Readings: Turkey-Centred Reading of the ‘Geographical Heart of History’

KUTLU REPUBLIC

Today we celebrate the 101st anniversary of the establishment of our Republic. May the resurrection process of the Turks with the Ergenekon of Ötüken be blessed with our new state established centuries later with the National Struggle, that is, ‘Anatolian Ergenekon’. Geo-politically, we understand the nature (metaphysical foundations) of the struggle for existence between Asia Minor and Asia Minor, and we read the processes of realising it with different identities in the context of the philosophy produced by the Turkish Mind. The symbols on the Presidential fora are some of the states in which the ethical-political values of the Turkish Mind were realised.

This accumulation formed the founding philosophy of the Republic of Turkey. Ziya Gökalp's definition of Turkish civilisation in the old period, which is important in terms of the formation of Turkish metaphysics, the middle period-Islamism, Farabi's example of civilisation, i.e. virtuous governance, shown to the whole world until the 16th century, and the new period, the efforts to adapt to the changing world political paradigm with the French Revolution, i.e. modernisation. This is not Europeanisation, but a mutual interaction at the point where the accumulation of humanity has arrived and the scientific, philosophical and scientific declaration of existence, the transition from a multinational structure to a nation/national state, the Republic instead of a monarchy, the transition from a religion-centred structure to a secular structure.

- KEY TERM: GEO-PHILOSOPHY

The key term in our endeavour to understand Turkestan-Turkey cultural continuity is ‘geo-philosophy’. For this purpose, I started to read about the geographical location of Pre-Asia and Inner Asia, climate and weather conditions, the availability of natural resources (such as pastures), diet, migrations from these places, the cities (and states) established on trade routes as socialisation, and the science that examines their interactions in these places, that is, geography.

Even though my readings were scattered at the time, I thought that our migrations through different options of the silk road, the political geography created was built on ‘physical geography’, and that this was natural because it was directly linked to meeting physical needs all over the world.

I am just reading Mackinder; ‘looking at the past in order to interpret the present’ is obvious for us. Because we see it as an endeavour to establish the identity between ‘Thought and a Geography’ or the identity between thought and homeland: An Introduction to Turkish Philosophy’, which we see as an attempt to establish the identity between thought and homeland, we are already trying to read the past/history by paying attention to the risk of anachronism.

- TWO TYPES OF POLITICAL JIHAD: BLACK WOLVES AND SEA LIONS

After the Turks emerged from the Ergenekon of Ötüken, they spread to Central Asia as ‘black wolves’ in Mackinder's words, then continuously moved westwards and came to Asia Minor, that is, Anatolia, and then transformed into a world power as ‘sea-lions’ in the 16th century, we examine with critical readings, trying not to fall into the glorious history syndrome, that they have the qualities of ‘two types of political jihangirs’.

Mackinder says that between the 5th and 16th centuries, ‘nomadic tribes’ (Huns, Avars, Bulgarians, Hungarians, Khazars, Pechenegs, Cumans, Mongols and Kalmyks) were in the ‘marginal crescent’. He stated that they moved from Central Asia to conquer or control the states and peoples in Europe, the Middle East, Southwest Asia, China, Southeast Asia, (Korea and Japan). This mobility continued from the end of the 15th century until the ‘great sailors of the Columbus generation’ succeeded in using sea power to ‘stabilise’ Central Asia.’ His statements made me very happy in my afterlife, it means that our readings on Turkish History are not glorious history syndrome.

Mackinder mentions the importance of analysing certain periods of history, which he thinks are strictly related to the physical features of the world by defining them. We were already thinking about the Turks' continuous progress to the west with Oghuz Kaan, their conception of the Red Destiny and where these corresponded to. After ensuring scientific-philosophical-scientific stability within the borders of the Republic of Turkey in Anatolia, as Gökalp put it, it is important to see that after achieving scientific-philosophical-scientific stability within the borders of the Republic of Turkey in Anatolia, it is important to work for a cultural (cultural and economic) unity in Syria, Iraq, Azerbaijan as Turkem / Oghuz unity as the near goal, and Turan as the distant goal, that is, the entire Turkic world. Historically, the Red Sea has always been renewed for different strategic positions. For example: Istanbul (Byzantine) Red Crescent, Roman Red Crescent (Rim Pope Red Crescent), Vienna Red Crescent, Engürüs (Budin) Red Crescent, Central Hungary (Estergon Castle) Red Crescent, Engürüs (lstolni Belgrade) Red Crescent, (in Germany) Great Kalona (Cologne) Red Crescent), we see that the ‘Black Wolves’ have brought the distant ambitions of the states they established closer.

- Anatolia's Triangulation Point: I had read one or two books on geopolitics during my residencyuntil I came to Çorum (1997). When I came to Çorum, I took other lecture notes, especially political geography, from Oktay Kılıç, a graduate of Istanbul University Geography Department. Friends who knew that I was trying to make my student life permanent by directing master's and doctoral thesis centred on Geo Philosophy also fed me with a continuous flow of books.

MACKINDER AND THE GEOGRAPHICAL HEART OF HISTORY

Halford J. Mackinder's The Geographical Heart of History, presented with Emin Gürses' introductory article titled “Mackinder and Mackinderian Geopolitics” (7-23), was brought by H.R.Aksungur. J.Mackinder's Geographical Heart of History was also brought by H.R.Aksungur, I am a history graduate comrade who knows ancient Persian in an effort to understand Turkestan-Horasan-Mesopotamia cultural codes. I read it and started to share the points that I deemed important in myself on social media. On Wednesday, I looked at the 2nd edition of the book on my desk. The sender is not written in the publishing house's online order so that I can thank him. In the new edition dated 2024, instead of Gürses' article, Francis P. Sempa's article titled “Mackinder's World” was included.

This book is a collection of Mackinder's speeches on the role of geography in determining history, the scope and methods of geography, the geographical conditions affecting the British Empire, and manpower and money power as an imperial power. The reason why he is seen as one of the pioneers of geo-political studies is to recognise the geographical features in the political relations of the countries of the world in developing policies suitable for Britain and to determine policies accordingly.

Let us reflect on the basic claims of Mackinder Agha: If a country has a strong capital, it will gain more. When we think about the economic war we are currently in, we feel this determination to the marrow of our bones. It is important to try to balance our weakness in terms of money power with manpower in our international relations, but to what extent?

Let's discuss this issue with two global powers, the USA and Britain: The United States is very strong in terms of manpower, economic and military power, whereas the Kingdom of Britain is basically made up of 4 different countries and has a certain population, can it see the population power in the commonwealth, that is, in the countries that were once Britain's colonies, as its own power?

In this context, let us think about the main actors and the secondary states in the revival of the historical silk routes as new political economy routes and their potential. In fact, he says that the British Empire is not an empire where peoples are brought together by chance, and that he sees Canada, Australia and South Africa, together with India, as a series of naval bases that have replaced the star with a cross on the Turkish flag. I call this (albeit from an imperial point of view) the inspiration of the British Mind by the Turkish Mind,

Macikinder also saw them as potential sources of white manpower for the defence of his small islands in the oceans and for limiting the naval fleet-building capabilities of the continental powers. ‘The Commonwealth of Nations is an international coalition of states that were formerly part of the British Empire (37 countries) and are now part of the United Kingdom (16 countries). Sixteen of the member states are still ruled by the British Royal Family. In these countries, the current monarch, Charles III, exercises the functions and powers of head of state through governors-general appointed by him. The King is also President of the Commonwealth. The total population of all countries is 2.5 billion.’

Let us go back to Mackinder again, in this respect, he says that he sees Egypt as one of his islands in the oceans. Turkey, like Germany and Russia, is a continental power, and he advises us to remember that no vehicle can penetrate against the manpower that will be transported by railways. You cannot send armoured vehicles into Syria, he says, but you can have all the world's central naval bases in the palm of your hand, thanks to the Suez Canal, which is under the control of a continental power or of allied states. Shall we think once again about the conflicts in Lebanon, Israel and the Gaza region in this context? Because this is one of the points where the British Mind has been able to outwit the Turkish Mind.

See how Mackinder describes this: ‘In Turkey and Egypt, more or less thirty years ago, by the use of our naval power, we supported the Sultan's rule in Constantinople and took control of Cairo, speaking on his behalf and on an equal footing with him. The correctness of our policy at the time will always be questioned morally and politically, but the natural result of this assistance was to open wide the gates of the eastern Mediterranean to our cotton-weaving products. Now all the gates of Europe, which were open before, are closed to our weavers, and in these regions we have nothing but customs officials whom we have enriched with our own hands.’

The gradual decline of the Ottoman Empire from a world power is directly linked to the active use of the Cape of Good Hope as a political economy and the discoveries of Columbus that changed the world balance.

Let us dwell a little more onthe discovery of the Cape of Good Hope: Mackinder, while analysing the course of historical events together with geographical conditions, states that the discovery of the Cape of Good Hope provided a link between the sea routes on the western and eastern sides of Europe-Asia and provided a wide range of mobility to the Christian world. Similarly, the use of steam power and the opening of the Suez Canal increased the mobility of sea power against land power.

This is an important data to understand today's conflicts over Gaza, the Belt and Road Initiative and the Imec projects. The Belt and Road project is always presented as China-centred, but there are those who say that it is a product of the UK and the British mind. For Mackinder once wrote: ‘India, China, the United Kingdom, Egypt and Turkey, South America and Africa. Thanks to our alliance with Japan, we were able to protect the Chinese market and, in spite of Japan itself, we were able to guarantee by treaties that this door would always remain open. We even prevented China from being divided and each part of it being administered under the mandate of several Western Powers in such a way as to interfere with our trade. For many years to come, everyone will remember how inevitable such a division actually seemed, and how much effort we made in the Yang-ce River basin to eliminate all possibilities one by one to prevent it.’

Mackinder, too, evaluated the pre-Columbian and post-Columbian period and again spoke of the worldwide impact of a closed political system. According to him, every explosion of social forces would reverberate even in the most remote corners of the world. Therefore, every country is concerned about a struggle for effectiveness. This, in turn, emphasises competition in international politics. After reading this book, I think I better understood the geo-political impact of the British Mind and the British Empire, which replaced the Turkish Mind in the ancient world.

- THE BRITISH MIND REPLACES THE TURKISH MIND

The date when Tugrul Bek liberated the Abbasid Caliphate from the domination of the Fatimid Caliphate is a turning point (1050) because it marks the beginning of the Turks' era in a geography extending from the Pacific Ocean to the Balkans, from the Arctic Ocean to the Arabian deserts and from the middle of the African continent. Mackinder points to this as follows: ‘The Seljuk Turks, who came out of Central Asia three or four centuries before the Mongols, settled in the vast region covering the Caspian Sea, the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea and the Persian Sea, which we can call the five seas, by crossing the Iranian route. Established in Kirman, Hamedan and Asia Minor, the Seljuks also overthrew the Fatimid rule over Baghdad and Damascus.’

‘Turkish Renaissance and Enlightenment’ continued until the XVIth century. It is important in this respect that some European historians call this period the ‘Turkish century’. As a matter of fact, ‘While the Ottoman Empire ruled over three continents, countries of ancient civilisation, inland seas and many tribes, the rest of the Islamic world was under the rule of other Turkish states.

There was the Bâbürlü State in India, the Safavid Shahdom in Iran, and other Turkish khanates in Turkistan and Altun-ordu. Thus, in this century, the sovereignty and expansion of the Turkish nation extended from the gates of Vienna to the valleys of the Ganges River, from the Altai Mountains to the Atlas Mountains, from the lengths of the Itil to Abyssinia and the Great Sahara. To paraphrase Osman Turan, Suleiman the Magnificent, whom Europeans call the Magnificent, represents the crown of this period and the cause of Turkish World Dominance.

Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror's declaration of the Turkish (Islamic) Renaissance to the whole world with the titles of Sultan-i Iklim-i Rum and Khalifey-i Ruy-i Zemin was the ‘Conquest of Constantinople’. Constantinople has now become Turkopolis. With the withdrawal of the Ottoman Empire from the stage of history, the British mind replaced the Turkish mind.

The book in my hand is important in this respect. Mackinder's sole objective was to maintain Britain's world hegemony. In this context, he draws attention to Germany and Russia. Let us read the Russia-Ukraine war in our region in this context. This is the Caspian Sea at an equal distance from the Atlantic and the Pacific, and Mackinder called it the ‘Heartland’. ‘This vast territory of the Euro-Asian land mass, which cannot be penetrated by sea, which has been open to nomads on horseback since ancient times, and which has recently been covered on all sides with iron nets, is the pivotal region of world politics.’ Outside this pivotal region, there is a large inner crescent belt with Germany, Austria, Turkey, India and China, and an outer crescent belt with Britain, South Africa, Australia, the United States of America, Canada and Japan.

- NATIONAL IDENTITY: PHYSICAL AND POLITICAL GEOGRAPHY

The founding will of the Republic of Turkey, which inherited the cultural accumulation of the Seljuk Ottoman state, is seen to have acted according to its physical and political geography with Misakı Milli and its population, which was broken by wars at that time. They established the new state by retreating to such a strategic area that they all have mercy on them; they made Turkey an indispensable country despite all the troubles we have been through. On the day the Republic was proclaimed, I am writing these lines to express my gratitude to them.

In Mackinder's words, physical geography is the answer to the question ‘Why there?’, and we can see this in the Misak-i Milli. It is possible to read the inclusion of Hatay within the borders of our country by Atatürk, who knew how important Hatay was, and the games played over Hatay and İskenderun today in this context. Our physical geography, i.e. our physical geography, makes our country's place in the world always important, which strengthens its hand in political competition.

GLOBAL DOMINANCE CAN ONLY BE ACHIEVED THROUGH THE CONTROL OF EURASIA

Influenced by Mackinder, Zbigniev Brzezinski, national security adviser to former US President Jimmy Carter (1977-1981), argued that global dominance is only possible through the control of Eurasia. Kissinger, too, emphasised the need to prevent Germany and France from acting together in Europe and rapprochement with Russia. Britain's exit from the European Union, its role in the Russia-Ukraine wars, and the position of Germany and France brought to my mind the question of whether they are play-makers or extras who have to do their part.

Mackinder says that the Mongol Empire of the previous period has been replaced by Russia today. He says that Russia's current pressure on Finland, Scandinavia, Poland, Turkey, Iran, India and China has replaced the previous raids of the steppe nomads from the centre outwards. ‘All the inhabited regions of the Old World eventually fell to this expansionist and mobile power, which drew its strength from the steppes. Russia, Persia, India and China either had to pay tribute or were ruled by Mongol dynasties themselves. Even the Turkish rule in Asia Minor, which was in the process of being established, suffered for half a century.’

Taking the whole world into account, Russia occupies for the whole world the central strategic position that Germany occupies in Europe. Because of its position, Russia can attack from any direction and can be attacked from any direction except the northern line.

According to him, ‘Taking the whole world into account, Russia occupies for the whole world the central strategic position that Germany occupies in Europe. By virtue of its position, Russia can attack from any direction and can be attacked from any direction except the northern line.’ In summary, it is necessary to analyse Mackinder's ideas well in order to understand the British mind. As a matter of fact, the then British Prime Minister T. Blair said in a speech he delivered in London on 13 November 2000 that ‘the aim of a nation's foreign policy should be power, force and influence to advance its interests and spread its beliefs. This aim never changes. But the content that is followed changes.’ (Halford John Mackinder, The Geographical Heart of History, ed: Kadir Yılmaz, Istanbul: Doğu Kütüphanesi publication, 2013, Emin Gürses, Introduction, 15, 2nd Edition (2024), this place does not exist)

CONCLUSION

When I read Mackinder, I saw the migration of our ancestors towards the West in three directions, the fertility of the lands they lived in at that time, whether they were wetlands or not, and most importantly, their selfless efforts in the processes of existence and expansion despite the limitations of our population, i.e. manpower. Once again, I admire the genius of Selçuk Bek and his sons (Tuğrul and Alparslan). I am talking about the fact that they knew the available manpower and made their existence independent in a coordinated manner without confronting them in the Persian and Arab political-economic dominance. I think we owe the dominance of the Turks in Eurasia, which lasted until 1918, to the wisdom of these leaders. And how can one not admire the fact that today, in 2020, the total population of 7 independent states and 15 autonomous republics of different tribes of Turks will reach 205,561,520 people!

References

Halford John Mackinder, The Geographical Heart of History, ed: Kadir Yılmaz, (Istanbul: Doğu Kütüphanesi, 2013, 64-65; 2024, 7-9, 147,159)

Elife Kılıç, Geographical Heart of History Kutadgubilig Journal, sy.25:.391-396, 2014,

İbrahim Gökburun, ‘Population of the Turkic World in the Age of Global and Regional Powers’, Journal of Turkic World Studies, 21/1 Summer 2021:1-33,

M.Uyanık: ‘Maveraünnehir as the Focus of Turkestan-Turkey Cultural Continuity’, VII. International Sheikh Shaʿbân-I Velî Symposium ‘Mâverâünnehir’ 17-18 May 2024 Proceedings Full Texts Book, Ed: Çiğdem Gülmez-Beyza Aybike Deveci, (Kastamonu: Kastamonu University Publications, 20024,1-35) Çorum:29.10.2024: 13.35