History Paper Outline

Coskun Efe Basak

HIS451-S

6/16/2017

Professor Edwards

Turkey’s History Since 1945

Introduction

Turkey, which is also referred to as the Republic of Turkey is a transcontinental nation in Eurasia, majorly in Western Asia, Anatolia with a minor section being in Southeast Europe, Balkan Peninsula. The country is a secular, democratic, parliamentary republic, unitary with a cultural heritage that is very diverse. Turkey was founded in 1923 after it conquered Ottoman Empire remnants. After it was founded, the country formed secular laws that replaced the conventional religious fiats. The country joined the United Nations I 1945 and became a member of NATO in 1952. Currently, the country is famous for being a good tourist destination with so many destination varieties for tourists (Roxburgh, 2005).

International Relations

Until 1960s, the foreign policy of Turkey was majorly based on close link with the Western countries especially the US. The country was more aligned with the United States since it wanted to benefit from its economic aid as well as its military and also Turkey wanted to be accepted by the US as a democratic, secular and Western nation. It was until 1960 that Turkey began to question its foreign policy due to the augmentation of political and economical corporation with Western Europe and the economic growth that began to be visible in the Middle Eastern nations. After the Cyprus events, Turkey even more doubted its association with the United States. Turkey saw the need to protect its citizens that were then in Cyprus. In 1974, after the president of Cyprus was overthrown, a union began between Greece and Cyprus. It is these events that led Turkey to broaden its relations even though it continued to be an alley of the US.

In 1964, Turkey improved its Soviet Union’s relations which led to an agreement of friendship in 1978. The country also developed good relations with Central Asia and Transcaucasian States especially those that had majorities of citizens speaking Turkish. In 1971, the country improved its relations with Islamic and Arabic worlds, China as well as Balkan nations. Despite Turkey’s numerous relations with different countries, the country has been accused of having fluctuations when it comes to international issues. The country has been seen portraying policy reversals when it comes to global and regional issue. For instance in 2010 Turkey began to befriend Syria through eliminating entry visas between the two nations and conducting many top-dignitary visits. This move was said to be in an effort to obtain social and economic changes in Damascus. Unfortunately, the plan did not go as planned (Roxburgh, 2005).

Turkish Ideologies

The Turkish nationalism has two ideologies that are associated with it namely Turanism or Pan – Turkism and Neo-ottomans. The Turanism also known as Pan-Turkism or Pan- Turanism is a nationisist political and cultural movement that was founded in the 19th century with an aim of countering the Pan-Nationalist’s ideologies effects. Turanism proclaimed the necessity of close relations or coalition among ethnically, culturally or linguistically linked people of Asian origin from Turkey. This ideology was formulated by Mathias Alexander Castren, who was a linguist and Finnish nationalist. According to Alexander, there was need for racial unity among Ural-Altaic people if they were to celebrate future greatness. Turkey adopted Pan-Turkism ideology in 1908. The second ideology adopted by Turkey is Anatolianism which indicates that the culture of Turkish people originated from Anatolia. Anatolia has major significance in the history of Turkey since it is majorly believed that origin of nationalism of Turkey originated in Anatolia but not in Turan as it is famously claimed (Goodwin, 2013).

Economic Activity in Turkey

The Turkish economy was founded in 1923 following the Ottoman Empire collapse. Since its inceptions, the republic of Turkey has seen instability periods. Currently, Turkey has become a European Union member and is going through numerous changes so as to build up its democracy and connect its economy to international platform. The economy of this country has currently been blend to traditional and modern industries and also enjoys a very a strong private sector. Due to its excellent geographical structure, Turkey offers a good platform for trade all through the region and is fast becoming a political and cultural center. Due to the business environment that this country offers, many countries from different parts of the world are finding this nation a good place to do business.

Turkey has since its inception ran a mixed economy with private and state ventures contributing to the economic growth. Over the years, economy of this country has been transformed from that only depend on agriculture to one that is inclusive of services and industries which have been rapidly growing over the years. The service sector of Turkey holds over half of the entire workforce hence being the greatest economic activity in the country. In 1940s and 1950s, Turkey was a leader in industrialization offering most of the structural improvements in shipping, ports and railways facilities. During this era, Turkey also established major industries like chemicals, metallurgy and mining industries. \Notably, the country was also investing majorly in food processing, building-material and textile industries. For all this while, the country was running an isolated economy with foreign investment being discouraged by the government (Roxburgh, 2005).

It is until after the postwar period that the economy of Turkey became more accessible to foreign controls. Major foreign aid came from the United States to finance expansion of agriculture in Turkey and to facilitate importation of industrial and agricultural machineries as well as transport equipments. With foreign aid, growth increased with private sectors flourishing even more. The private firms continued to access State intervention through government loans hence making them stronger and more productive. It was until 1970s that the economy of Turkey got badly hit by large-scale unemployment, inflation and an unremitting foreign trade shortage. In 1980s, the country experienced some economic policy shifts. This shifts included the support for foreign investment, the founding of joint enterprises, the minimization of state sector importance, and a massive export force. Since then, the country has faced massive cases f recessions caused by huge inflations. Nevertheless, the country still enjoys economic growth despite the cases of inflations.

Resources

Turkey has varying types of natural resources even though not all come on large scale. In the Middle East, Turkey is the only country that has a huge coal deposits. The country also produces lignite and oil though in small portions. As such the oil produced in the country does not fully satisfy the needs of the country hence more petroleum products are imported from outside. Oil and lignite is very essential in this country since it helps in generation of electricity. The entire country of Turkey is covered with electricity grid including its villages. The country also produces metallic ores like chromite and iron which are then majorly exported. Further the country has a major deposit of lead, manganese, bauxite, l zinc and copper which all are essential in improving the economy of the country.

Agriculture

The economy of Turkey is majorly contributed by agriculture with the country’s one third being utilized for agricultural purposes, most of it being extensive. Half of the agricultural lands utilized for crops while a third is used for anima rearing. These proportions came into existence since 1960s after there was a major support of arable lands by advent of tractors. Turkey majorly cultivates cereals which include corn, wheat, at and rice. Potatoes, cotton, sugar beets and tobacco are also majorly farmed in Turkey. The country has also massive livestock farming that includes water buffalo, goats, cattle and sheep farming. The agricultural industry provides the country with good export earnings.

Industry

There is support of varying manufacturing industries in Turkey. Most of the large towns have factory clusters widely distributed in them. The highest industrialized zones in Turkey include; Istanbul, Sea of Marmara area, Aegean coast, Adana basin and Ankara region. The manufacturing industries that lead in Turkey are Textile and foot wear; chemicals and food and beverages industries. The country is also a leader Steel production in the entire Middle East. In 1970s and 80s there was a wide expansion of Engineering industries which currently are widely distributed around the country. The textile industry of Turkey is the major employer in the manufacturing industries. Agricultural products processing is also done all over the country with tobacco manufacturers being the leading branch.

Trade

The Turkish economy has greatly been boosted by foreign trade. Between 1945 and 1960s, most of the exports from Turkey were derived from agricultural products. Imports were limited to transportation equipment, manufactured goods and machinery. It was after 1960s that Turkey began production of manufacturing sector that provided new export sources. The exports that now lead in Turkey are yarns, fabrics, clothing, iron and steel, tobacco, livestock products, fruits and vegetables, machinery and textile fibers. The highest imports in the country now include petroleum products, machinery, chemicals consumer goods and transportation equipment. The main trading partner of Turkey is Germany, but the country also trades with Europe and Middle East.

Transportation

Since the World War II, the economic growth of Turkey has comprised of huge investment in transportation. In 1950s, the main investment concentration was on railway network, Nevertheless, in the last decades, Turkey has also improved its networks of high ways and roads. Railway networks were formally used in linking commercial agricultural areas to ports. The use of railway declined in 1990s when majority of passengers chose road over railway as their means of transport. Today, majority of the transportation for passengers and freight are done by road. All the major cities in Turkey are connected with major road networks with buses being the major source of transportation. Major cities and neighboring countries are also kinked by airlines which also are growing as a mean of transportation in the area.

Demographics

The location of Turkey is GMT+2 time zones which make I easy for the country to converse with eastern and western nations within similar working day. Its population also has a positive impact to is economy since it represents a huge opportunity to varying aspects. Turkey has a population of young and educated people something that contributes to a lucrative market and a strong pool of labor in the country. The labor force of this country comprises of approximately 30 million people, hence making Turkey number 3 largest labor market in Europe. The country stands out among its competitors due to its huge young population. The country is also well urbanized with 20 large cities that hold over one million people each. Due to the massive urbanization, Turkey also enjoy social growth and economic development through goods and services production (Goodwin, 2013)

Social/ cultural/ religious aspects of Turkey

According to the constitution of Turkey, the term “Turk” is a political word that means all the citizens of Turkey without reference or distinction to region or race. According to the data of linguistics, most of the Turkey citizens claim that their mother tongue is Turkish, while the rest speak Kurdish and a minor group of minority speaks Arabic. Being a country that constitutes of two major cultures, Turkey reflects a wide collection of values, ideas and beliefs. The country which is connected both to Middle East and European boundaries is majorly proud of its achievements and history. Not only does the country pride in its traditional values, it also prides in its massive and rapid modernization. This makes the country a good destination for business ventures.

Major concepts and values in Turkish culture

Family: This is the most important social component in the culture of Turkey. A person’s life is fully dependent on friends, family and community at large. This means a person’s decisions are majorly influenced by family and community. Loyalty to the family is also very important in Turkish society ad also affects business practices. For many years, and even today, many businesses in Turkey are family-owned and the family influence in the business is major.

Time: The Turkish people are able to juggle several activities within the same time and are also fond of multiple conversations at the same time. It is common for people in Turkey to conduct business while still having phone conversations and even get to meeting rooms with no invitation. They are also not keen on linear system and structure during their meetings. This means that for a foreigner to conduct business in Turkey, he/she must exercise a lot of patience.

Religion: For so any years, the Turkish society was dominated by Islam religion. This is different from today’s scenario where it is now a secular state. Nevertheless, the Turkish culture is still dominated by Islamic philosophy and ideology. Therefore their language, cultural life, social connections and democracy is still influenced by Islam (Murinson, 2009).

Environmental Issues in Turkey

Similarly to majority of the other developed countries, Turkey is also facing major environmental issues that are related to its high industrialization. The greatest problem that the country is facing is air pollution that is spread all over the country especially in the urban centers of this nation. There has been a report from the European Environment Agency (EEA) that stated that over 97% of urban population living in Turkey is exposed to hazardous levels of particulate substance pollution. Carbon emissions from this country have greatly increased in the past 30 years. Between 1990 and 2011, carbon emissions in Turkey increased at a rate of 124%. Among the emissions released from 2011, 86% of them are from sector of energy while the rest came from other industries.

Notably, there is a rich biodiversity in Turkey and the biodiversity is majorly vulnerable to changes in climate due to the limited resources of water in the country. Even though there are some water resources in Turkey, they are not equally distributed in the country. This makes it a real challenge to control and integrate the available water resources in the country. The country has also faced major decline in fisheries following emissions and poor quality of air not to mention water pollution.

Turkey’s Environmental Policies

Since 1980s, the government of Turkey began improving its environmental action and recently it has improved its laws and regulations that are formulated to help safeguard the environment. The environmental stance of Turkey has also received a major help after the environmental agreement signings began as an initiative of the European Union. There was also formulation of the Turkish policy that saw great improvement in the environment of the country. Turkey is also currently very keen on boosting its renewable energy sector as a way of producing clean energy. Still in an effort to improve its environment, Turkey has formulated a number of environmental strategy copies for some sectors like soil erosion control, biodiversity control, climate change adaptation, fight against desertification and reforestation. Further, Turkey is working on reviving its landscapes that were early degraded through making major investments and improving its programs on reforestation.

For a number of decades now, Turkey has been compelled by international energy markets to examine again how it consumes and generates energy. As a result, the country decided to create a national development plan supporting investment in renewable energy sector of the country. The Clean Technology Fund (CTF) have greatly supported and even funded Turkey in its effort to embrace the use of renewable energy. CTF provided Turkey funds through their billion-dollar program as a way of assisting the country in developing and innovating clean technology (Murinson, 2009).

Through the CTF assistance, it is clear that Turkey will enjoy a future with a clean environment. The country is tirelessly using its investment and power to ensure that it safeguards its citizens from pollution that has negatively affected developed countries all over the world. Though the country is still in its infancy, there is major potential since the country can utilize the sun, wind and water that are at its disposal. Though in the past years the country has not been utilizing these resources in production of energy, data from its government indicates that it is possible for the country to produce enough energy through solar energy, with and geothermal. By 2023, the country aims at producing 30% of its energy naturally.

Conclusion

Turkey is a transcontinental nation that is also secular, democratic, parliamentary republic, unitary with a cultural heritage that is very diverse. The country was founded in 1923 after it conquered Ottoman Empire remnants. Until 1960s, Turkey’s foreign policy was majorly based on a close link with the Western countries especially the US but this changed over the years as the country continued to have close relations with Eastern and Middle East countries. The countries nationalism is made of two ideologies namely Turanism or Pan – Turkism and Neo-ottomans. Turkey’s economy is a mixed economy with private and state ventures contributing to the economic growth. It is unfortunate that Turkey, just like other developed countries is facing environmental issues that are related to its high industrialization. Despite these challenges the country is working hard to overcome pollution issues and to continue growing in terms of its relations with other countries and economically.

References

Goodwin, G. (2013). A History of Ottoman Architecture. Thames & Hudson.

Murinson, A. (2009). Turkey's Entente with Israel and Azerbaijan: State Identity and Security in the Middle East and Caucasus. Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern Politics; Routledge

Roxburgh, D. J. (2005). Turks: A Journey of a Thousand Years, 600–1600. Royal Academy of Arts