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Not exactly unhappy to see Erdoğan go, but a military coup sounds bad
Indeed, but in Turkey the military has been the most staunch support of secularism, and has taken power many times before. They have always released it to democratic governments of their choosing.
What is the big question now that Turkey is very internally divided between liberals and conservatives.
Indeed, but in Turkey the military has been the most staunch support of secularism, and has taken power many times before. They have always released it to democratic governments of their choosing.
What is the big question now that Turkey is very internally divided between liberals and conservatives.
They have also previously engaged in large human right violations immediately after post-coup. Hopefully this one won't be, but it could.
Another danger is if Islamists can't come to power democratically, they'll feel the system is rigged against them and engage in more violent tactics. Turkish Islamists are still mild for Middle Eastern standards. Erdogan may be fleeing to Germany.
Anyway, while I am certainly opposed to islamism, the secularism of Turkish institutions like the military is linked with Turkish nationalism. I am not sure of the usefulness of Turkism nationalism at the present time (Armenians & Kurds may have a negative reaction).
It's still not wholly clear, to my knowledge, of the ideological motivations of the Turkish military opposition & their coup attempt (I'm seeing conflicting reports) but I do know Erdogan was opposed by Turkish nationalists, and the military is of course a major nationalist force in the country.
I've been doing some reading and I'm glad to hear about anti-EU sentiments in Turkish nationalism. Turkish nationalism and Turanism also go hand-in-hand. Interestingly, Turanism is shared by Jobbik in Hungary, and other Hungarian nationalists, who see the Magyars as more connected to the Turkic peoples. If I were Hungarian, I'd probably identify more with Turanism as well, particularly if it fosters a focus on Tengrism instead of Christianity.
At the very least, Turanism may be a good counterbalance to russian aggression & expansionism. However, I am leery of Jobbik itself for their position on Ukraine. I think they are very wrong here.
Turks were historically our bitterest of enemies - the (Turkic) Crimean Khanate engaged in a massive slave trade and captured millions of Ukrainians.
But in the present day, I would say Ukraine and Turkey certainly need not be foes.
Historically, also, Atatürk was a friend of Ukraine.
Anyway, I definitely needed some time to familiarize myself a bit with the background situation before I said whether I thought the coup would be a good thing or not. I do lean toward thinking the former.
Coup is said to be failing. We will see. To call Turkey a democracy is like to call Coca-Cola a health drink because it has water in it. Erdogan has moved his country too far to Islamic ideology which is not what Ataturk envisioned
It is disappointing that the coup attempt apparently did not garner as much support as the military would have anticipated.
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