13 June 2005

Many factors contributed to the recent French and Dutch objections to the proposed European Union constitution. One - usually unstated - factor is a fear of Turkish membership in the EU. That membership drive, however, has already transformed Turkey.

In order to prepare for EU accession, Turkey has undertaken vast and serious legal, political and economic reforms. Turkey's bureaucrats, politicians and citizens united to fulfill the Copenhagen criteria for EU membership and tolerated the pain of the International Monetary Fund-directed structural-adjustment programs. The looming accession process will be even more painful, but Turks are firmly resolved to face the challenge.

Turkey's transformation has already put an end to the cold war-style security-state apparatus that ruled the country for half a century, and has changed the framework of the country's domestic and foreign policy. By modernizing and democratizing at home, Turkey's politicians have gained self-confidence in their ability to conduct a successful regional policy. As a result, Turkey's leaders are now willing to pursue active diplomacy in the Middle East in an effort to minimize problems with neighboring countries.

Of prime importance is the fact that Turkey is emerging as a role model for those across the Middle East who are seeking reform and modernization. This influence does not imply a hegemonic relationship, but rather points to an alternative path for reform and economic development that other primarily Muslim countries might take. The EU is associated with peace, democracy and economic development, while the Middle East is characterized by instability, authoritarianism and economic backwardness. Turkey's reform process shows that the latter is not an unavoidable destiny for the countries of the region.

In this respect, Syria and Iran appreciate Turkey's EU membership process. They consider a European Turkey an opportunity to develop their own relations with the EU. Turkey also shows that the supposed clash between democracy and security - and, indeed, between democracy and Islam - can be reconciled. Other Muslim states seem to grasp this: recently, a Turk was chosen for the first time and by a majority vote to be secretary general of the Organization of Islamic Countries.

Turkey's other major contribution comes through constructive diplomatic engagement in the region. The Turkish government has adopted an active role as a promoter of peace and has reconfigured its policies toward a number of regional problems.

For example, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan broke with tradition by displaying a critical attitude toward Israel's more hawkish policies in the Occupied Territories, and did so without severing diplomatic relations with Israel. During a visit of Turkey's Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul to Israel in early January, there was serious discussion about Turkey's assuming a mediating role between Israel and the Palestinians, as well as in future Syrian-Israeli talks.

Turkey, of course, did not join the U.S.-led occupation forces in Iraq, but it has put enormous effort into mobilizing regional support for a stable Iraqi state. Indeed, Turkish policymakers have, on a regular basis, brought the countries bordering Iraq together for discussions about the future of the region. The United Nations Security Council has taken these meetings seriously and has requested further regional cooperation on the Iraqi question.

Turkey's constructive engagement with the EU creates a sense of trust in the West - among Western leaders at least, if not yet the general population - for its regional initiatives. Yet Turkey is also succeeding in keeping an equal distance between both the EU and the United States. For example, Turkey is closer to the European Union in its policies toward Iraq and Palestine, yet follows a line similar to that of the U.S. in the Balkans and Cyprus.

In recent history, a variety of regional powers - the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's Iran and Gamal Abdul Nasser's Egypt - have arisen in the Middle East. Turkey's arrival as a regional power differs in that its democratic structures make it an active peacemaker, not a local bully.

This is both a necessary and a promising role, for the region needs a local dynamic force pushing for reform, transformation and peace. Turkey's experience shows that true regional security requires internal stability and social peace. With luck, this model can be exported throughout the Muslim world.

Bulent Aras, a professor of international relations at Fatih University in Istanbul, is an independent political consultant on Turkish and Middle Eastern affairs. THE DAILY STAR publishes this commentary in collaboration with Project Syndicate (www.project-syndicate.org).