‘CURRENT CIVILIAN-MILITARY COOPERATION IS NOT EPHEMERAL’

Today’s Zaman
Oct 27 2009
Turkey

The dominant trend shows that the militaries in Turkey and the European
Union are converging, as Turkish security culture has been evolving
to be more civilian oriented, and the EU is likely to seek a closer
strategic partnership with Turkey, according to observers.

Ali Karaosmanoglu, a professor of international relations at
Bilkent University in Ankara, said it is evident through the current
developments regarding the Kurdish initiative of the government that
the military is in agreement with the ruling Justice and Development
Party (AK Party).

Giving examples of past experiences regarding civilian-military
cooperation in Turkey, Karaosmanoglu said they proved to be fleeting.

"There is reason to have faith in the process," he told Today’s
Zaman, answering questions at a conference yesterday organized by the
Center for European Security Studies (CESS) based in the Netherlands
and İstanbul Policy Center (IPC) at Sabancı University based in
Ä°stanbul.

The current civilian-military cooperation will not be "ephemeral,"
he said, because the international context is radically transforming
and the security culture in Turkey is changing.

The military’s subordination to civilians is given in a consolidated
democracy, but in Turkey he said it needs to be constructed.

"The military should believe that subordination to the civilian
government is a virtue. On the other hand, responsibility for a change
of mindset lies not just with soldiers but politicians since they
should be able to demonstrate that they can lead," he added. "The
present government effectively demonstrates that it can lead."

In order to accelerate this process of change in Turkey, Karaosmanoglu
stated that the EU has many important structures in addition to civil
society institutions, media and universities.

Graeme Herd from the Geneva Center for Security Policy said at the
same panel that one misperception regarding Turkey-EU relations is
that their strategic cultures do not converge and that the EU does
not have a strategic culture.

"The EU has a strategic culture, and it converges with Turkey’s,"
Herd said. "If the EU wants to be global power partner, Turkey will
be a political, economic and strategic asset."

The rejection of Turkish membership on the grounds of clashing
strategic cultures will only highlight the dependence of the EU on
non-EU partners, Herd added.

"Turkish rapprochement with Armenia and its constructive role in
Nagorno-Karabakh underlines Turkey’s pivotal role in this part of
the EU’s near neighborhood," he stated.

At the CESS-IPC conference "Changing Relations between the Civilian
Authorities and the Military," which was opened by the senior advisor
to the IPC, Joost Lagendijk, Consulate General of the Netherlands
Onno Kervers presented the first copy of the CESS publication titled
"Perceptions and Misperceptions in the EU and Turkey: Stumbling Blocks
on the Road to Accession" to Alp Ay, who represented Turkey’s chief
EU negotiator Egemen BagıÅ~_ at the event. Ay is the director of
the Directorate of Political Affairs at the Secretariat General for
the EU Affairs.