On May 21, 2019, Turkey’s defense minister declared that it was preparing for US sanctions. This was an unusual declaration for a NATO member. The reason was Turkey’s purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense systems. Yet this debate is only the tip of the iceberg. Turkish policymakers led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan are seriously considering the possibility of shifting Turkey’s geopolitical position by ending its NATO membership. Although the political decision on such a shift is unlikely given Turkey’s fragile economic conditions, a demand for it already exists in certain segments of Turkish society. In the last five years, the majority of Turkish society has embraced anti-western discourses probably at the deepest level since Turkey’s NATO membership in 1952.
The international media has covered various anti-western statements of Erdogan. Erdogan’s discourse does not simply reflect his personal taste; instead, it is shared by two large socio-political groups in Turkey. These groups, the Islamists and ultranationalist Kemalists, are now the two main pillars of the Erdogan regime. Erdogan himself is extremely pragmatic. He will risk losing the support of these groups if he decides to go back to the pro-western attitudes he cultivated between 2002 and 2012. For now, anti-westernism is the glue that brings Islamist and ultranationalist Kemalist elements of the current regime together. That is why analyzing these groups and their connections to anti-westernism is crucial to understanding current Turkish politics.
Before examining Islamists and ultranationalist Kemalists separately, it is worth pointing out that these groups’ anti-westernism is not a simple criticism of problematic US policies toward the Middle East, such as the invasion of Iraq. Instead, it is a sweeping reaction against the West as if western countries constitute a monolithic and homogenous entity.
