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Secularism in Turkey: the Perpetual Tipping Point: Key to the Future Or Prelude to Collapse University of Nebraska at Omaha DigitalCommons@UNO Student Work 12-1-2006 Secularism in Turkey: The Perpetual Tipping Point: Key to the Future or Prelude to Collapse Peter R. Catalono University of Nebraska at Omaha Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/studentwork Recommended Citation Catalono, Peter R., "Secularism in Turkey: The Perpetual Tipping Point: Key to the Future or Prelude to Collapse" (2006). Student Work. 418. https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/studentwork/418 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by DigitalCommons@UNO. It has been accepted for inclusion in Student Work by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@UNO. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Secularism in Turkey The Perpetual Tipping Point: Key to the Future or Prelude to Collapse A Thesis Presented to the Department of Political Science and the Faculty of the Graduate College University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree MS in Political Science University of Nebraska at Omaha by Peter R. Catalano December 2006 UMI Number: EP73056 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI EP73056 Published by ProQuest LLC (2015). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest' ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 ii Thesis Acceptance Acceptance for the faculty of the Graduate College, University of Nebraska, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree MS in Political Science, University of Nebraska at Omaha. Committee Dr. Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado Dr. Meredith Bacon Dr. Paul Williams Chairperson__ Date Secularism in Turkey: The Perpetual Tipping Point: Key to the Future or Prelude to Collapse Peter R. Catalano, MS Political Science University of Nebraska, 2006 Advisor: Dr. Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado Abstract: During the Cold War, the strategic significance of Turkey to the United States was clear: limit the expansion of the Soviet Union and maintain control of the Dardanelles. For the past decade and a half Western policymakers (US and European) have sent mixed signals to the Turks as to the importance of Turkey in the region, as a bridge between East and West, and in the World. Through eight decades of secular rule Turkey has shown that a democratic and secular state can exist within an almost entirely Muslim population. This thesis is made up of five main parts that answer the question —does Turkey still matter? The first two parts establish a foundation for the discussion and consist of a theoretical overview of secularism and a history of the Turkish state. The remaining three parts constitute an applied research section consisting of indirect quantitative analysis, polling data analysis, and direct and indirect interviews. Through this thorough research of the modern day issues the thesis question will be answered with a resounding affirmative. The evidence shows that Turks, while firmly grounded in Islam, place great emphasis on other issues: personal freedom, economic opportunity, a moderate and accepting form of Islam (18-24 yr grp), and their own family unit (Mutlu 1996). Although Turkey has issues that must be resolved—the Kurds and Cyprus to name the two primary ones—the West (primarily the US and Europe) must realize that the contributions Turkey can make on the world political stage are enormous. As Turkey continues to modernize and westernize the US and Europe should focus less on what changes they want Turkey to make and more on the efforts and changes Turkey has already made. If there is to be peaceful coexistence between Islam and the West, in any form or to any degree, the secular but unapologetically Muslim state of Turkey serves as both a critical partner for the West and as a model for the future of other Islamic states. V Table of Contents Secularism in Turkey ................ i Thesis Acceptance ..... ii Secularism in Turkey: ......................................................... iii Table of Contents ..............................................................................................................................v List of Figures ................ vii List of Tables .................................................................................................................................viii Chapter 1 - Introduction ........................................................................................................1 Problem Statement .................................................. 2 Chapter Layout.............................................................................................................................3 Chapter 2 - The History of Secularism........................................................................................6 Greek Philosophers...................................................................................................................... 6 Plato and Aristotle .......................................................................................................................7 Early Western Thinkers............................................................................... 9 Peace of Westphalia..................................................................... 13 Later Western Thinkers...................... 14 Rawls' Theories and Turkey Today ..................................................................... 19 Chapter 3 - History of Turkey .................... 23 The Ottoman Empire ............. 23 Ataturk ......................................................................................................................................... 26 World War II and Beyond ........................................................................................................30 Political Parties, Coups, and Islam ......................................................................................... 30 Chapter 4 - Turkey Today .......................... 39 US Foreign Policy Towards Turkey .......................................................................................39 European Foreign Policy Towards Turkey .............. -...................................47 Turkish Foreign Policy ............................................................................................................. 52 Polling Data ..................... 56 Interview D ata 64 , Major Issues to EU Accession .................................................................................................66 Cyprus................. 67 K urds .......................................................................................................................................71 vi Chapter 5 - Conclusion ...................................................... 77 Appendix I: Shared Vision Statement ........................................................................................79 Appendix II: EU Projected Economic Data for 2006 ............................................................. 81 Appendix III: Interview D ata .......................................................................................................84 Works Cited ................... 87 vii List of Figures Figure 1: Expansion of the Ottoman Empire .............................................................................24 Figure 2: Decline of the Ottoman Empire .................................................................................. 25 Figure 3: Unified Command Structure ..............:................................ 46 Figure 4: EU Membership Snapshot .......................................................... 48 Figure 5: NATO Membership.................... 50 Figure 6: Cyprus .............................................................................................................................67 Figure 7: Kurdistan .........................................................................................................................71 viii List of Tables Table 1: Turkey's Export-Import to the US ............................................................................... 47 Table 2: Mutlu Data Religiosity Scale ............................................... 59 Table 3: Mutlu Data-Operational Definition of Democratic Values .................................... 60 Table 4: Polling Data of Certain Variables ............................................................................... 63 Table 5: Polling Data on Question Importance ........................................................................ 64 1 Chapter 1 - Introduction Turkey has always existed as a place “in-between”: e.xisting at the crossroads of East and West, Europe and Asia, Europe and the Middle East, past and present. Scholars postulated that with the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, the strategic significance of Turkey would begin to taper off. The West no longer needed a buffer on the Southern shore of the Black Sea. But Turkey, a secular state whose citizens are 98% Muslim, is as important today as it ever was. The defining feature of Turkey is
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