Am I too naive to talk about a "perpetual peace" between Turkey and Greece given the fact that it took 49 years for a Greek prime minister to visit Turkey? Maybe, but once the two communities overcome "security-centric" perspectives and look to each other not as historical adversaries but as contemporary partners, a significant step in this direction will be taken.
The main obstacles before this "perpetual peace" are an exaggerated concern for "security" and historical prejudice that fuel each other. Turks are led to believe that the Greek Megalo Idea is still alive and can be reactivated at any moment, that the ecumenical claim of the Greek-Orthodox Patriarchate is a threat and that Greek islands in the Aegean are to be used to strangle Turkey. Greeks keep reminding themselves how they were swept out of Anatolia -- a remembrance that constructs their national identity by otherizing the historical image of the Turk.
I think both sides are learning to not be imprisoned by a particular narrative of history and an irrational sense of insecurity. Even historical memories are being invoked to rediscover how to live together as in the past. Turks and Greeks are surprised by their similarities as they get to know each other. Many might have already been bored of talking about common food, common words in the languages and even common patterns of behavior. Soothed with personal experiences, people at large would say that they are good friends who do not have any problem with the other side. It is almost always added that the problem is between states.
This might sound rather clichéd but there is truth in it, and a clue to settling the disputes for good. It suggests that the way to establish a perpetual peace between the two communities is to put people at the center of the relationship. This requires rescuing the fate of the two countries from a practice of "high politics" that has no room for compromise or cooperation. The practitioners of "power politics" know of nothing but military capabilities, war machines, and bullying. They even look at their own citizens, the Greeks in İstanbul and the Turks in western Trace, as hostages to be used against the other side. Let us, first of all, get rid of them.
Years ago, when Turkey and Greece were on the verge of war over the Aegean sea, Turkish Prime Minister Turgut Özal proposed a fresh "perspective" -- freeze politically sensitive issues for a while and instead develop economic and social interactions. This was not a solution per se but a new approach that would pave the way for solutions. The argument was a simple liberal view that economic and social engagement would in time turn high political disputes into irrelevant issues by establishing mutual benefits and unbreakable ties.
To some degree, this is being carried out. Two years ago the Greek National Bank took over Turkish Finansbank for around 3 billion Euros. The Greek company didn't just buy a bank in Turkey, it invested in the future of the country. A stable, prosperous and peace-loving Turkey that gets along with Greece is now in the interest of both the Greek and Turkish stakeholders of Finansbank.
Of course, there remain some big issues to be tackled on the table. The biggest is undoubtedly Cyprus. The Cyprus question is constantly awakening historical prejudices and mutual insecurities and legitimatizing the hardliners on both sides. Unless this dispute is somehow settled it will be really hard to expand and deepen cooperation between the two sides.
Other issues are of less significance. Opening the Greek Orthodox seminary in Turkey that was closed in 1971 is not a big deal. The ecumenical status of the patriarchate should also not be a great problem -- contrary to the exaggerations of some nationalists in Turkey. Conservative circles who oppose the ecumenical claim of the patriarchate should explain how they presume to override a right given by Mehmet the Conqueror.
In return, Greeks should overcome an insecure identity defined by reference to their historic struggle against the Turks.
28.01.2008
The main obstacles before this "perpetual peace" are an exaggerated concern for "security" and historical prejudice that fuel each other. Turks are led to believe that the Greek Megalo Idea is still alive and can be reactivated at any moment, that the ecumenical claim of the Greek-Orthodox Patriarchate is a threat and that Greek islands in the Aegean are to be used to strangle Turkey. Greeks keep reminding themselves how they were swept out of Anatolia -- a remembrance that constructs their national identity by otherizing the historical image of the Turk.
I think both sides are learning to not be imprisoned by a particular narrative of history and an irrational sense of insecurity. Even historical memories are being invoked to rediscover how to live together as in the past. Turks and Greeks are surprised by their similarities as they get to know each other. Many might have already been bored of talking about common food, common words in the languages and even common patterns of behavior. Soothed with personal experiences, people at large would say that they are good friends who do not have any problem with the other side. It is almost always added that the problem is between states.
This might sound rather clichéd but there is truth in it, and a clue to settling the disputes for good. It suggests that the way to establish a perpetual peace between the two communities is to put people at the center of the relationship. This requires rescuing the fate of the two countries from a practice of "high politics" that has no room for compromise or cooperation. The practitioners of "power politics" know of nothing but military capabilities, war machines, and bullying. They even look at their own citizens, the Greeks in İstanbul and the Turks in western Trace, as hostages to be used against the other side. Let us, first of all, get rid of them.
Years ago, when Turkey and Greece were on the verge of war over the Aegean sea, Turkish Prime Minister Turgut Özal proposed a fresh "perspective" -- freeze politically sensitive issues for a while and instead develop economic and social interactions. This was not a solution per se but a new approach that would pave the way for solutions. The argument was a simple liberal view that economic and social engagement would in time turn high political disputes into irrelevant issues by establishing mutual benefits and unbreakable ties.
To some degree, this is being carried out. Two years ago the Greek National Bank took over Turkish Finansbank for around 3 billion Euros. The Greek company didn't just buy a bank in Turkey, it invested in the future of the country. A stable, prosperous and peace-loving Turkey that gets along with Greece is now in the interest of both the Greek and Turkish stakeholders of Finansbank.
Of course, there remain some big issues to be tackled on the table. The biggest is undoubtedly Cyprus. The Cyprus question is constantly awakening historical prejudices and mutual insecurities and legitimatizing the hardliners on both sides. Unless this dispute is somehow settled it will be really hard to expand and deepen cooperation between the two sides.
Other issues are of less significance. Opening the Greek Orthodox seminary in Turkey that was closed in 1971 is not a big deal. The ecumenical status of the patriarchate should also not be a great problem -- contrary to the exaggerations of some nationalists in Turkey. Conservative circles who oppose the ecumenical claim of the patriarchate should explain how they presume to override a right given by Mehmet the Conqueror.
In return, Greeks should overcome an insecure identity defined by reference to their historic struggle against the Turks.
28.01.2008
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