Turkish President Erdogan makes a speech to protestors of the coup d’état.

 
Situated at the crossroads between Asia and Europe, Turkey is a country that must assume the role of bridging East and West. It is notably a pro-Japanese country in the Islamic region, and many Japanese people doubtless feel a close affinity with the Turks.

In July, there was an attempted coup by part of the Turkish army, and the Erdogan administration purged many of the people who were allegedly involved. Around 35,000 military persons were restrained and approximately 80,000 government workers were dismissed.

Soon after the attempted coup, President Erdogan visited Russian President Vladimir Putin to hold talks. Both presidents came to an agreement to amend their deteriorating relations triggered by Turkey’s shooting down a Russian bomber in 2015.

Turkey is a member of NATO, the world’s greatest military alliance. European member nations are increasingly cautious towards Turkey and Russia becoming closer.
But, why was there a coup d’état in Turkey?

The conflict between Islamists and secularists continues in Turkey. In the 1920s, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, separated the long-unchanging Islamic powers with politics. Thus by making secularism the national policy, he made sure that all of his people were entitled to pursue wealth and happiness.

In 2003, however, when Erdogan became president he decided to strengthen Islamic authoritarianism. This recent coup was a response to the government’s increasing state power.

President Erdogan has accused Fethullah Gülen, a Turkish preacher who defected to the U.S., the mastermind behind the coup. Erdogan has been demanding the return of Gülen to Turkey, but the U.S. has refused.

Why the Dictatorial President Is Still Popular

We need to be watchful of the Erdogan administration’s increasingly dictatorial movements, and its approaches to Russia with common enmity towards Europe and the U.S. Since over exercised Islamic authoritarianism deprives the people of freedom, there is clearly a need to update the Islamic teachings to suit our modern society.

While this is undeniably true, it is also true that Turkey is experiencing a trend towards a return to Islamic government exemplified by the gathering popularity of the Erdogan administration.

It may be shallow of us to simply label Erdogan as a dictator. Perhaps, amidst the unstable political conditions, the people are looking for a powerful and charismatic leader like Erdogan.

Turkey has had very close ties with Japan. In 1890 the Japanese helped survivors of the shipwreck of the Turkish Ertugrul, and the Turkish, in turn, saved many Japanese during the Iran/Iraq war.

Japan should not necessarily side with Europe and the U.S. to bash Turkey, but ought to attempt to form independent diplomatic ties to try and contribute a helping hand to stabilizing Turkish politics.