Interesting piece from a British perspective. We lacked the statecraft and the cruelty required to make this single minded pursuit of sovereignty work, with the fact that our parliamentarians refuse to admit these are real issues proof enough of the problem.
I also hadn't appreciated how the European integration process generates leverage over both other Europeans and domestic opponents.
Still though. The world in which we all have a Normal Turkey that wants European integration for normal reasons like Poland or Spain is a better world. As you say, racism against Muslims and Turks from Europeans is part of why we don't have it, but if as you say Turkish elites were never really serious about it then that's a shame too.
It did feel like a better world, but I'm not sure I long for it. It's like an atheist saying that it'd be nice to be religious again, to have that comfort in one's life. Yes maybe, but we're also well past that point.
That's not to say that I think Turkey and Europe are as civilizationally distinct as their new elites claim to be. I really don't think they are. It's more that the political union isn't going to work for the foreseeable future.
I agree re Britain. Elites there are a lot more conservative than Turkish ones. They seem wedded to an idea of globalization and can't accept the world as it is. They also don't have a clear political goal to be ruthless about.
Interesting piece from a British perspective. We lacked the statecraft and the cruelty required to make this single minded pursuit of sovereignty work, with the fact that our parliamentarians refuse to admit these are real issues proof enough of the problem.
I also hadn't appreciated how the European integration process generates leverage over both other Europeans and domestic opponents.
Still though. The world in which we all have a Normal Turkey that wants European integration for normal reasons like Poland or Spain is a better world. As you say, racism against Muslims and Turks from Europeans is part of why we don't have it, but if as you say Turkish elites were never really serious about it then that's a shame too.
It did feel like a better world, but I'm not sure I long for it. It's like an atheist saying that it'd be nice to be religious again, to have that comfort in one's life. Yes maybe, but we're also well past that point.
That's not to say that I think Turkey and Europe are as civilizationally distinct as their new elites claim to be. I really don't think they are. It's more that the political union isn't going to work for the foreseeable future.
I agree re Britain. Elites there are a lot more conservative than Turkish ones. They seem wedded to an idea of globalization and can't accept the world as it is. They also don't have a clear political goal to be ruthless about.