Is Huntington Right?

BY SAMI KOHEN
MILLIYET- Samuel Huntington, the controversial American author of ‘The Clash of Civilizations,’ came to Istanbul earlier this week and told CNN Turk that Ankara's bid to join the European Union was doomed to fail!
His ideas and controversial book ‘The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order’ have long been debated by scholarly and political circles all around the world. It’s very interesting that Huntington came to Turkey and offered striking remarks on the country’s EU membership bid just when anti-Turkish circles in the bloc have also started to raise their voices. His messages were clear: Europeans don’t want you. They'll do everything they can to keep you out…
The American political scientist bases his remarks on his controversial views in ‘The Clash of Civilizations.’ In other words, the reason why Europeans don’t want Turkey is the cultural and religious differences between the two.
There’s no doubt that some European circles don’t want Turkey for just the reasons cited by Huntington. However, these aren’t the only reasons. Turkey’s large population and political and economic shortcomings are also major problems in the eyes of Europeans.
However, it’s also true that some governments are in favor of Turkey’s membership despite public opposition and hesitation in their countries. As a matter of fact, these two poles are still debating the Turkey issue on the old continent.
Huntington is right about one thing: Since the French and Dutch referendums on the EU Constitution seem to connect with Ankara’s membership bid, we could suspect that there is an ulterior motive to exclude Turkey behind these votes. However, if the French and Dutch publics say ‘no’ to the Constitution, we cannot argue that the only reason is our membership bid. It would be quite mistaken to think that Turkey’s membership aspirations are the only motive…
We will of course face new difficulties if these referendums reject the EU Constitution and possible early elections unseat Germany’s current government … But what should Turkey do now?
One of our options is to continue our path without deviating from our goals. Let’s not forget that Turkey is already a member of basic European institutions such as the Council of Europe and the European Parliament. We’re also part of most of the European cultural and sports organizations. Therefore, Huntington is mistaken, as he sees the picture from a single perspective…
Our second option is, as Huntington suggested, to give up on our EU aspirations and seek new alternatives. Honestly speaking, Huntington’s suggestions are way behind Turkey’s targets and almost certain not to work. He’s insisting on a theory based on the clash of civilizations, and I think he’s trying to find examples to back it up…
However, in the international community you’ll find many people who believe in and strive for the compromise of civilizations…