Egypt

Prime Minister Erdoğan Navigates a Post Arab-Spring Middle East

The Prime Minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, went on a tour recently of Middle Eastern and North African states affected by the Arab Spring. Erdoğan visited the Arab-League in Cairo, Egypt as well as Tunisia and Libya. Erdoğan spoke on secular democracy and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The recent and continuing revolutions in the Mid-East have upset the status quo. With new governments and new leaders emerging, Turkey’s prime minister seeks to increase his own political capital in the Arab states by further aligning himself with ideas popular in the Arab world. The revolutions there are a mandate against the previous forms of government and Erdoğan seized the opportunity to promote his state’s secular democratic model. Erdoğan’s pro-Palestinian rhetoric greatly increases his appeal to the Arab public and at a time when membership in the European Union is looking less and less likely due to rising nationalist sentiments across Europe that are opposed to immigration, particularly by Muslims, and even the EU itself; Erdoğan’s timing could not have been better. In addition, eight Turks and one Turkish-American were killed by Israeli Defense Forces while on board a humanitarian aid flotilla headed for Gaza. The incident upset many Turkish citizens, but Netanyahu’s refusal to apologize further infuriated Turks. Severing military and diplomatic ties with Israel is a bold move, but for Erdoğan’s popularity at home and in the Arab world, not a bad one. Erdoğan’s proclamations further cement domestic popularity, but more importantly it increases the possibility that Turkey will become a major power among and mentor to the governments emerging from the Arab-Spring.

Liberal

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=erdogan-offers-8216arab-spring8217-neo-laicism-2011-09-15

http://www.haaretz.com/print-edition/news/erdogan-in-cairo-israel-s-aggression-endangers-the-future-of-its-citizens-1.384286

September 15, 2011 at 11:43 pm