The powerful states of our age were based in Europe. Many states in other regions, though, found it difficult to maintain the stability of statehood. Western states that consolidated after World War I and World War II had better luck. The Cold War-era Warsaw Pact states, except for those closer to Western Europe geographically, seemed to be institutionally stable, but they were unable to become economically sustainable. Today, most are stuck between the West and Russia.
While Western states ruled their own countries with a colonial-based culture, they also interfered in the internal affairs of other countries as part of their policies. Until NATO was established, interfering in the business of other states was a tactic most commonly used by Britain and France. After the establishment of NATO, while these two states were busy with their own colonies, the task of managing world states in a broad sense turned into a NATO concept.
In some countries, elections and the parties that came to power were often subjected to secret or open intervention by Western actors. While Latin American and African countries are more open to foreign intervention, in countries like Turkey, these interventions have been more sophisticated. Although NATO was meant to maintain security and counter the Warsaw Pact, it was also designed to hand over the control of countries affiliated with NATO to the U.S.
Turkey was represented by a single political party, the Republican People's Party (CHP), in the first years of its establishment. The state, army and politics at the time aimed to transform society with a modern approach.
After World War II, the U.S.-led world order was established. This new order has been perceived as a more democratic approach. As a result, Turkey switched to a multiparty system to adapt, and the Democrat Party (DP) had a strong presence in its first elections. It shifted the country's administration from the CHP and changed the course of the country's politics.
Turkish democracy has experienced military coups almost every 10 years since becoming a republic, and many have claimed that the U.S. is behind the coups. This trend of intervention has become a familiar situation for all NATO countries.
The 1960 military coup deeply traumatized Turkish society and damaged the country's politics. The executions of then-Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, the chairman of the DP, and two ministers continue to haunt the nation. Although many CHP members criticized the government at the time by claiming that all the evil in the country started in the 1950s, the execution of a prime minister cannot be defended by anyone, including CHP members.
The so-called Feb. 28 "postmodern coup" was a process I personally experienced. There was a clan of generals with disabilities who wanted to conduct a coup against the government on a simple pretext. They had strong support from the economic community and the media; in one aspect, they were all allies of the coup. When the government was eliminated, the generals became consultants for the companies.
The country plunged into chaos, with the corruption and theft of nearly $100 billion (TL 743 billion) that was siphoned out of the state's banks. Since we experienced this whole event de facto, we now understand that the coup plotters were agents of other states and planned the coup to prevent the progress of the country through liquidating then-Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan by accusing him of making Turkey religionist.
When the current People's Alliance was established, I wrote that this alliance was a solution to three main issues. The first was resistance to the global system. Western states would intervene in the country's politics and change the government in the periods when Turkey was defending its own interests, similar to what occurred on Feb. 28. However, today the strong structure of the People's Alliance has developed a conscious resistance against external interventions in the country's politics.
The fact that the votes of the People's Alliance and the Nation Alliance were around 50% in both alliances seemed a source of hope for both the national alliances and the countries that wanted to be involved in Turkish politics from the outside. However, the inability of both parties to demonstrate the ability to receive even 1% of the votes from the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) showed that dividing the AK Party did not go as planned.
While the Nation Alliance was trying to weaken the People's Alliance step by step, the surprise came from within the CHP. Muharrem Ince, a CHP lawmaker and former presidential candidate, started the country movement in one day. Mustafa Sarıgül, the CHP's former mayor of Istanbul's Şişli district and 2014 metropolitan mayor candidate, has also signaled that he plans to establish a party soon. In addition, former CHP deputy Yılmaz Ateş's criticizing the CHP's political steps also started a discussion. While the Nation Alliance was working to undermine the government, its alliance and friends began to suffer. It has been frequently asked: Are there foreign elements within CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu's friends?