Woodrow Wilson, Turkish Foreign Policy Guru?
I had an interesting conversation today with Murat Mercan, who's a founding member of the AKP and the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Turkish Parliament. We were talking about Turkish policy toward Iran.
Claire: I really get the feeling speaking to you that your policy is extremely Utopian--
Mercan: It's Wilson's. It's Wilson's--
Claire: Yes, but where did that lead! That's exactly right! It's Wilsonian! But where did that lead! Wilsonian politics were an absolute failure, the League of Nations was an absolute--this is the point! You're not learning the lessons! You're not learning the lessons of the history of Wilson!
Mercan: That's because after this, the United States gave up Wilson's politics. This WIlson's politics was in the books but not reality, in implementation, otherwise--
Claire: Now, hold on a second! I agree. The problem with the League of Nations was enforcement. But the problem here is also enforcement. The League of Nations was destroyed because aggression went unpunished.
Mercan: Now ... no. The problem is that--we have to engage nations.
Claire: I think you should go back and revisit the history of Wilson.
The whole conversation was on the record. I recorded it. Maybe I can figure out a way to upload the whole thing; it's fascinating.
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May '10
Re: Woodrow Wilson, Turkish Foreign Policy Guru?
Claire Berlinski, Ed.:
Except that the United States didn't give up on them; at least not in the long run. Although Wilsonian overreach helped lead to the 1920s return to neutrality, the Wilsonian progressives simply rejiggered their framework and came back in the 1930s as New Deal "Liberals".
There's very little difference conceptually between FDR's vision of the postwar order after WWII and Wilson's after WWI. FDR's overarching goal was to complete what Wilson had failed to. Although most of FDR's Wilsonian efforts became subsumed into the Cold War under Truman, at least in terms of sustainability and support from the United States, this legacy (UN, various economic bodies, etc.) is still with us today. Unfortunately for your interviewee, they're still predominantly useless in matters of conflict.
Aug '10
Re: Woodrow Wilson, Turkish Foreign Policy Guru?
Murat Mercan sounds exactly like the majority of US History teachers -- in public schools, at least.
May '10
Re: Woodrow Wilson, Turkish Foreign Policy Guru?
When I think of Wilsonian foreign policy, I think of American involvement in the First World War and how disastrous and (if I may) how unnecessary it was.
May '10
Re: Woodrow Wilson, Turkish Foreign Policy Guru?
That's very interesting that a founding member of the AKP would speak exactly like an American progressive. Is such crossover only sporadic or is Turkish government following a progressive agenda?
Re: Woodrow Wilson, Turkish Foreign Policy Guru?
The crossover is a very interesting phenomenon, and complex. Definitely there's a good deal of ideological influence, as this exchange suggests. I wish I could find an easy way to post the whole interview, the language he used was fascinating, as was his understanding of history. I'll be writing more about it.
Jun '10
Re: Woodrow Wilson, Turkish Foreign Policy Guru?
Claire Berlinski, Ed.
. I wish I could find an easy way to post the whole interview, the language he used was fascinating, as was his understanding of history. I'll be writing more about it. · Oct 21 at 11:11am
Why would posting the interview be more difficult than the podcast? (You are using a digital recorder aren't you?)
Re: Woodrow Wilson, Turkish Foreign Policy Guru?
Yes, but I don't know how to upload them to Ricochet ... also, they need editing, there's minute after minute of us ordering coffee, him taking calls on his cellphone in Turkish, and stuff that was off-the-record (nothing that exciting, he just asked me not to source it to him directly).
Aug '10
Re: Woodrow Wilson, Turkish Foreign Policy Guru?
If you are using a Mac, I think QuickTime will let you cut and splice audio clips. I don't remember how, exactly, but I used it myself for this very purpose several years ago. And If a Luddite like me can do it, it shouldn't be so hard.
May '10
Re: Woodrow Wilson, Turkish Foreign Policy Guru?
Claire Berlinski, Ed.
The crossover is a very interesting phenomenon, and complex. · Oct 21 at 11:11am
The international left has long been socially interconnected and you should never be surprised when its narratives crop up in different parts of the world. Such intellectual transfers were how we ended up with Wilsonianism in the first place.
During my brief time working with the State Department, I was constantly coming across the usual American-left tropes, albeit adjusted slightly to appeal to the local flavor.
My favorite personal anecdote of this type came when I was giving a presentation to a German high school class on the American media. The teacher stopped me to point out how, according to some person who had presented on the theme previously, the New York Times was an 'objective', 'moderate' paper until the Iraq War, when it got caught up in the 'nationalist' fervor and became right wing.
Edited on Oct 21, 2010 at 3:16pmMay '10
Re: Woodrow Wilson, Turkish Foreign Policy Guru?
I think the Whit Stilman film Barcelona captures this phenomenon precisely. As the protagonists are walking away from the left-wing journalist waxing idiotic about American history, the Spanish girl says something along the lines of "Everyone knows that that the United States blew up their own ship in order to start the war with Spain. It's a historical fact."
"All of our school textbooks say so."
Aug '10
Re: Woodrow Wilson, Turkish Foreign Policy Guru?
Kofola: I think the Whit Stilman film Barcelona captures this phenomenon precisely. As the protagonists are walking away from the left-wing journalist waxing idiotic about American history, the Spanish girl says something along the lines of "Everyone knows that that the United States blew up their own ship in order to start the war with Spain. It's a historical fact."
"All of our school textbooks say so." · Oct 21 at 2:59pm
Heck, all of my school textbooks said so. You mean it's not true?