BY IBRAHIM KALIN
TODAY’S ZAMAN - Not a day passes without a major media outlet publishing an analysis of China, India and Brazil as emerging markets. Some call them emerging powers. Some rightly think they have already emerged. Recently, The Economist had a special file on China. The figures are impressive. Other emerging markets are likely to increase their share of the global economic pie. But this is not enough to become a great power.

We’re confusing emerging markets with great powers because most of our analyses are based on pure economic considerations. But it takes more than economic growth to be a great power. What made the US a great/super power was more than good fiscal policies. In the past, the Roman and Ottoman empires became great powers because they embraced a number of key values that made their global outreach possible. Besides a strong economy and military, they also became centers of attraction for the best minds and talent in the world. They followed policies of pluralism and inclusivism that created space for people of other faiths and ethnicities to contribute to the societies in which they lived.

The rise and fall of great powers depend on many factors. Pluralism and inclusivism are two key components of any successful model. Take the Ottomans as a past example: The Ottomans built an empire and by definition had to be pluralist and cosmopolitan because they ruled over a huge geography with many religious and ethnic groups. They embraced (“integrated”) these groups and allowed them to climb up in the ladder of social ascendancy. Non-Turks and Non-Muslims became high officials, ambassadors, special envoys, traders, scientists, artists, court doctors, etc. It was this cosmopolitan and pluralistic spirit that made the Ottoman Empire the envy of many European countries when Europe was searching for a way to get out of its continental tribalism. Today, Turkey is seeking to reclaim this spirit (and some rush to label it as neo-Ottomanism).

This is not to suggest that only a dreamy, libertarian form of pluralism and meritocracy will lead to power. The elements of hard power, i.e., having access to natural resources, building a strong economy and maintaining a deterrent military force are required. But there is no way to sustain a great concentration of power without embracing pluralism, cosmopolitanism and tolerance. The extent to which emerging powers in the non-Western world are embracing pluralism, tolerance, meritocracy and cosmopolitanism will shape the future of these powers.

In her engaging book “Day of Empire: How Hyperpowers Rise to Global Dominance – and Why They Fall,” Amy Chua argues that great powers emerge when they embrace cultural pluralism and meritocracy. The capacity for global power entails a global understanding of the world. But she also points out that these values also change the nature of the society where the dominant-majority group (Persians, Romans, Chinese, Mongols, Turks, the British, etc.) can no longer claim ethnic-cultural purity. The newly emerging multicultural society produces new dynamics and new tensions. Greatness carries within it the seeds of disintegration. In the words of Ibn Khaldun, group solidarity (asabiyyah) leads to great wealth and power. But when you reach that level, you begin to decline.

This is the crisis Europe is facing today. Europeans think they can deal with such issues as security and integration by following tougher immigration policies. But this diagnosis is wrong. Europe cannot have an influence on global politics by turning upon itself and excluding its minority communities such as Muslims and Turks. Writing for the blog The New York Review of Books (The Fading Dream of Europe, Dec. 25, 2010), Turkish Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk says that “the peoples of Europe have a lot less experience than Americans when it comes to living with those whose religion, skin color, or cultural identity are different from their own.” Pamuk then adds: “Higher walls, tougher visa restrictions, and ships patrolling borders in increasing numbers will only postpone the day of reckoning. Worst of all, anti-immigration politics, policies, and prejudices are already destroying the core values that made Europe what it was.” One can say the same thing for the US if the Tea Party ideology takes over in that country.

There is a lesson for the Muslim world here, too. Muslim societies will not achieve wealth, creativity and stability until they reclaim the cosmopolitan spirit of classical Islamic civilization. Muslim societies need to embrace pluralism, inclusivism and meritocracy to become centers of attraction for the best minds and talent in the world. Petty nationalism and modern tribalism are bringing the end of Europe. We need not repeat their mistake.