Drifting Perceptions

BY NICOLE POPE
TODAY'S ZAMAN - The latest Transatlantic Trends survey published by the German Marshall Fund will probably bring grist to the mill of those who believe Turkey is drifting east in its foreign policy. The Turks who were polled displayed a high level of skepticism toward US and EU foreign policies, while favoring more cooperation with Middle East countries and downplaying the risk posed by a nuclear Iran.

Such surveys are useful to chart broad trends, but they leave out as much as they reveal. In particular, the research probed the similarities in values and found that a majority of Turks believed their values separated them from the West, while Europeans displayed similar doubts about the Turks' core values.

In this particular context, that of foreign policy and transatlantic cooperation, it would be useful to clarify further the definition of "values." In most dictionaries, values are described as a set of beliefs with a strong emotional component held by individuals or a group.

If values refer to democratic principles, Turkey can hardly be described as moving away from the West. Turks may be distancing themselves from policies espoused by the US administration or EU governments in the region, and they may differ from their perspectives on regional issues like Iran, but it does not necessarily follow that Turkey is moving closer to non-democratic countries.

Painful and fraught with setbacks as it is, Turkey is undergoing a profound transformation, which is broadening the scope of democratic debate and improving its institutions. The results of the Sept. 12 referendum clearly show that Turks want further change and few major issues of the country's past and present these days evade public scrutiny.

International polls reduce to figures the gap of perceptions that has emerged. Because they are conducted from a western point of view, they miss many of the nuances and in particular the fact that the US and the EU have themselves evolved and, one could argue, moved away from some of their core principles in the past decade.

The Iraq War, of dubious legality, seriously damaged America's image in Turkey and the developing world. It caused massive human losses, eroded human rights and few outside Washington believe that it has transformed Iraq into a stable democracy.

While President Obama clearly displays a more open and reasonable attitude, his policies, notably in Afghanistan, have not differed widely from those of his predecessor. Furthermore, a new generation of hard-line "Tea Party" Republicans is emerging, which is finding wide support among a discontented American population shaken by the economic crisis. The world outlook shared by Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck and other Christine O'Donnels make George Bush look like a sophisticated intellectual and an internationalist.

It is also hardly surprising that the European Union should prove less attractive to Turks these days. Not only have they been offended by the very vocal opposition to their membership expressed by countries like France and Germany, but the economic aspect of the project was always an important part of its appeal and Turkey these days has a more dynamic economy than mature EU economies.

Unfortunately, while the potential for growth should make Turkey more of an asset for a sluggish EU, European public opinion is also getting increasingly defensive and inimical to Muslims and immigrants, as demonstrated by the recent expulsions of Romas in France and anti-immigrant attitudes elsewhere. The blueprint the EU offers to guide Turkey's transformation has lost none of its worth but when it comes to implementation, these developments show that in times of crisis, upholding principles of cultural pluralism, justice and fairness requires constant vigilance in the most mature democracies.

Turkey's active foreign policy is broadening the country's horizons on several fronts, largely shaped by economic concerns. You just have to take an international Turkish Airlines flight to notice how many more Arabs and Africans are transiting through Turkey, thanks to the growing number of destinations that has developed in parallel with emerging commercial ties.

From an American or European point of view, the end result remains the same. A self-confident Turkey is more likely to go it alone and is therefore a less predictable ally. But defending one's own interests has always been at the center of the West's preoccupations and Turkey, in that respect, remains true to the western line.