South East Europe and the New Turkish Strategic Vision

There is turmoil in Turkey, both internally involving Turkish President Recep Taip Erdogan, an undisputed political leader in the past decade in Turkey on one side, and followers of Fetullah Gulen, a prominent and influential religious and political leader currently residing in the Unitest States of America on the other side are fighting fiercely both in courts both in winning public opinion. Dispute is over the future that Turkey should take: towards West and its values or towards its former Ottoman glory projected in new 21 century. The secular order of the Turkish state has been challenged in the recent years as Erdogan promoted its agenda of revitalizing and reaffirming the Turkish Islamic tradition. This was pushed forward with the influence of current Prime Minister Ahmet Davutogllu, who has never hidden his vision of Turkey with a neo-Ottoman future going further to promoting Pan-Islamism under Turkish leadership. There have been numerous allegations that the Government of Turkey is disrupting the work of the opposition as well as preventing freedom of press. In December of 2014, 23 journalists and editors were detained in orchestrated raids accused of having close ties with Fetullah Gulen whom Erdogan accuses of establishing a “parallel organization inside Turkey†aiming to overthrow his democratic government. There is also well known “Ergenekon Affair†which lead to 275 arrests of prominent police and army officers, most highly ranked being Chief General Staff Gen. Iker Basburg. After a five year trial Basburg alongside 18 fellow officers received life-sentences by Istanbul’s 13 High Criminal Court.