22 February 2008
A European Solution for Turkey
Multiculturalism is not the European answer to ethnic diversity. The examples of Ireland, Yugoslavia, and now Belgium show that forced blending of cultures under a democratic government is less and less effective.
The Ottoman Empire was a successful venture in ethnic diversity, combining a large number of nationalities and religions under its Sunni Muslim rule. When it was overthrown after its decay from WWI, Kemal Attaturk replaced it with a mono-ethnic secular regime that could afford less tolerance for cultural diversity. Although the infamous genocide alleged by the Armenian diaspora occurred uncharacteristically during the Ottomans' waning years, the new regime’s power has been determinedly maintained through Turkish ascendancy at the expense of its minorities, notably Kurdish.
The real distance between Turkey and the EU is not one of religion—Muslim vs. Christian. It is, rather, the underlying difference in attitudes towards cultural diversity. How will the human rights court of The Hague deal with the suppression of minorities in Turkey that has been essential to its existence for nearly a century? The model that is increasingly being followed in Europe is fragmentation of political states to reflect ethnic diversity. It is hard to believe that Turkey would fit into today’s European Union without the simultaneous admission of Kurdistan.
Multiculturalism is not the European answer to ethnic diversity. The examples of Ireland, Yugoslavia, and now Belgium show that forced blending of cultures under a democratic government is less and less effective.
The Ottoman Empire was a successful venture in ethnic diversity, combining a large number of nationalities and religions under its Sunni Muslim rule. When it was overthrown after its decay from WWI, Kemal Attaturk replaced it with a mono-ethnic secular regime that could afford less tolerance for cultural diversity. Although the infamous genocide alleged by the Armenian diaspora occurred uncharacteristically during the Ottomans' waning years, the new regime’s power has been determinedly maintained through Turkish ascendancy at the expense of its minorities, notably Kurdish.
The real distance between Turkey and the EU is not one of religion—Muslim vs. Christian. It is, rather, the underlying difference in attitudes towards cultural diversity. How will the human rights court of The Hague deal with the suppression of minorities in Turkey that has been essential to its existence for nearly a century? The model that is increasingly being followed in Europe is fragmentation of political states to reflect ethnic diversity. It is hard to believe that Turkey would fit into today’s European Union without the simultaneous admission of Kurdistan.
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