Why isn't anything being written about Recep Tayyip Erdoğan?

The Western colonial empire has utilized science, technology, economy, and culture as weapons against nations with the aim of unprecedented exploitation, unlike anything seen in history. For two centuries, it not only militarily defeated these nations but also unleashed its cultural imperialism, pushing them into helplessness and despair.

One of the key pillars of this cultural imperialism was the monopoly on defining what is acceptable and what is not. According to this framework, the West was deemed acceptable while non-Western societies were not. Modern science was declared acceptable while all other value systems, including religions, were accused of superstition and archaism, and belittled as signs of backwardness.

Without wasting much time, when we examine how this colonial approach has been brought to the Turkish stage, we see that throughout our long process of modernization, everything related to our own history, religion, and culture was denigrated and marginalized. Following the French Revolution and the Chinese Cultural Revolution, a Jacobin process of modernization was forcibly imposed upon our nation.

In the end, a favored ruling class, favored academics, and favored artists were cultivated by the state. Each of them, acting as extensions of Western states within the country, sided with the winning side in a disconnected manner from their own cultures, and started waging war against their own people and their values.

Every issue was presented to these men who sat at the altar of the West, and they rejected anything that did not meet Western criteria. A single sentence from them could destroy an entire intellectual. Comprising academics, military and civilian bureaucrats, journalists, and artists, this colonial intellectual class seized the fate of the country for a long time.

At this point, this class held the monopoly to label individuals as good or bad, patriots or traitors, modern or backward, and condemned those who did not align with their ideologies to oblivion. Despite being a "poet-sultan," Necip Fazıl Kısakürek was deemed the "other," while Kemal Tahir, despite coming from the left tradition, was included in the list of defective individuals for criticizing the regime. Despite being an extraordinary scientist, Necmettin Erbakan was referred to with derogatory terms and humiliated.

The political discourse that blames voters for their ignorance proves that the colonized mindset is still alive and well. Interestingly, the issue lies in the unconscious marginalization of those who have been alienated by Türkiye's Jacobins and colonial intellectuals, even within their own neighborhoods. The most striking example of this is President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

During his twenty years in political power, President Erdogan not only achieved political success but also defeated the mindset of Western states and the club of the helpless and disillusioned within the country. Challenging this mindset of Western colonialism, from its heyday to the present, in such a manner has never been accomplished by anyone before. We can summarize this process as follows:

1. President Erdogan consistently reiterated his political achievements.

2. He systematically solved problems by taking each step in order.

3. Throughout this process, he relied on the values of his own people, history, culture, and religion.

4. He elevated Türkiye to the level of developed countries in terms of infrastructure investments.

5. He positioned Türkiye as a regional power and a global actor.

6. As the leader of the nation, he strengthened the national state structure while the main opposition party, CHP, deviated from its own values and became an extremist party.

7. He made revolutionary transformations in the defense industry, strengthening the military and eliminating military tutelage. The enhancement of the military's combat capacity paved the way for new opportunities for diplomacy and the economy.

8. By proclaiming "The world is bigger than the five!" at the United Nations podium, he became the leader of all oppressed people who have been betrayed. Winning the 2023 elections, he earned the respect of friends and foes alike.

We could extend these points for several pages. However, we must question why there is a lack of discourse regarding the meaning of Erdogan's politics and vision, especially on a global scale. In my opinion, the anti-Erdogan impositions by the "white Turks," Jacobins, and CHP members manifest as a counter-reaction in the opposing neighborhood, while in our neighborhood, it lives as an unconscious complex. Scholars and intellectuals hesitate to impartially assess President Erdogan, who is an academic and thinker.

President Erdogan has initiated a political revolution. This revolution should find its resonance in all areas. The revolution cannot be completed with those who linger in the shadows and fear their own shadows.