Turkey’s new Foreign Minister, Mr. Ahmet Davutoğlu, is known to be one of the masterminds of the country’s so-called neo-Ottoman foreign policy.
The new policy relies on several premises such as: Considering the countries and lands that once composed the Ottoman Empire as the natural zone of Turkey’s influence; reliance on cultural, religious, diplomatic and economic relations and resources –“soft power” – to exercise influence; in contrast to the traditional Kemalist doctrine, taking a more positive stance on the Ottoman past.
An important component of the “soft power” is education. Turkish public and private institutions of higher education, with the benediction and support of the government, have been very active in neighboring countries and regions in the past few years. Many Turkish owned or affiliated HEIs, particularly private ones, have sprung up in Georgia, Kurdistan region of Iraq, Turkish occupied northern Cyprus, Azerbaijan, etc.
This is, of course, in sharp contrast to what we witness in Armenia. No Armenian public or private HEI has even been able to establish a reasonable presence outside Armenia including in Armenian populated regions such as Artsakh, Jakhaveti region of Georgia, Southern Russia, etc. Inside the country, one gets the impression that the Ministry of Education and Science is doing all it can to weaken and even eliminate the private sector. The public institutions are not in a better shape; plagued by insufficient funding and corruption. With shaky grounds in the home market, no HEI can naturally venture abroad.
Turkey the Savior
During his visit to Azerbaijan at the end of May 2009, Mr. Davutoğlu made a speech at Qavqaz University; an institution affiliated to some Turkish private interests and an NGO called Çağ Öğretim. Were present: Çağ Öğretim Chairman Mr. Enver Özeren, Rector Mr. Ahmet Saniç, faculty members, and some students.
Azerbaijan has, of course, never been part of the Ottoman Empire, and has historically been part of the Iranian civilization before being annexed by Russia. There was only the short episode of Ottoman adventurism in the South Caucasus 1918-1919, motivated mainly by Baku’s energy resources.
As diplomat, Mr. Davutoğlu can naturally tell the story differently, or even reinvent history to fit his neo-Ottoman doctrine. Portraying a “big brother – little brother” scenario (Turkey is of course the big one) and playing on Azerbaijani paranoia, Davutoğlu’s speech is an interesting text. The speech was reported by Zaman Turkish daily; I am in []:
The descendents of Nuri Paşa the Ottoman General
Noting that Turkey and Azerbaijan were brother countries and strategic partners, the foreign affairs minister said this was the reason he had made his second official overseas visit to Baku after Cyprus.
He highlighted the importance of the schools opened by Turkish entrepreneurs in Azerbaijan and said: “There may be people who are working to create problems between the two countries. But as long as there are good institutions like the Caucasus [Qavqaz] University where Turkish and Azeri brothers work together, ill-intentioned people can never reach their goals.”
Stating that Turkey and Azerbaijan have shared the same fate for a very long time [?], the minister highlighted that the educators who came from different parts of Anatolia to volunteer in Azerbaijan have the same goal as the people that came under the command of the Ottoman General Nuri Paşa in 1918 to save Azerbaijan from occupation [?].
Davutoğlu went on to say, “Look at the irony of fate. The grandchildren of those who came a century ago from Konya, Trabzon, Diyarbakır, Van and Zonguldak and who fought together with their brothers from Gence, Şeki, Nakhichevan and Karabakh are now here to establish educational facilities on these lands. I believe they have the same fate. They fought on the frontlines to protect Azerbaijan and you educators are sharing your knowledge with your brothers to protect Azerbaijan [protect from what/who?]. Your grandparents fought to make this country their native land [it wasn’t their native land? So who was exactly occupying what?] and you here are sharing knowledge to give strength to this country, and increase its population in the world [!? Does one need university education for this?].”
The Ottoman Turkish army under the command of Nuri Paşa fought to protect Baku from Russian, English and Armenian occupation in 1918 and lost 130,000 soldiers in the battle. The soldiers were buried in the Hiyabani Martyrs' Cemetery in Baku. After the Turkish army liberated Baku and Azerbaijan declared its independence, military teachers set up a school in Gence, where they trained Azeri youth.
Sharing his advice with the students, Davutoğlu said an ideal university student should have 3 important goals: finding a good job [!], learning international values very well [international values?] and adhering to national and spiritual values.
He explained that Caucasus [Qavqaz] University graduates, regardless of where they go, would encounter a Turkish population of 100 million in the world and added that the outside world needs to learn about this culture “sometimes from the verses of Fuzuli, sometimes from Mesnevi and sometimes from the works of Mimar Sinan.” [Intriguing but revealing choice by Mr. Davutoğlu as 2 out of these 3 representatives of Turkish culture were not Turks: Mesnevi was written by Mevlana Rumi, a Persian poet, Mimar Sinan was an Armenian architect serving the Ottoman Court.]
The new policy relies on several premises such as: Considering the countries and lands that once composed the Ottoman Empire as the natural zone of Turkey’s influence; reliance on cultural, religious, diplomatic and economic relations and resources –“soft power” – to exercise influence; in contrast to the traditional Kemalist doctrine, taking a more positive stance on the Ottoman past.
An important component of the “soft power” is education. Turkish public and private institutions of higher education, with the benediction and support of the government, have been very active in neighboring countries and regions in the past few years. Many Turkish owned or affiliated HEIs, particularly private ones, have sprung up in Georgia, Kurdistan region of Iraq, Turkish occupied northern Cyprus, Azerbaijan, etc.
This is, of course, in sharp contrast to what we witness in Armenia. No Armenian public or private HEI has even been able to establish a reasonable presence outside Armenia including in Armenian populated regions such as Artsakh, Jakhaveti region of Georgia, Southern Russia, etc. Inside the country, one gets the impression that the Ministry of Education and Science is doing all it can to weaken and even eliminate the private sector. The public institutions are not in a better shape; plagued by insufficient funding and corruption. With shaky grounds in the home market, no HEI can naturally venture abroad.
Turkey the Savior
During his visit to Azerbaijan at the end of May 2009, Mr. Davutoğlu made a speech at Qavqaz University; an institution affiliated to some Turkish private interests and an NGO called Çağ Öğretim. Were present: Çağ Öğretim Chairman Mr. Enver Özeren, Rector Mr. Ahmet Saniç, faculty members, and some students.
Azerbaijan has, of course, never been part of the Ottoman Empire, and has historically been part of the Iranian civilization before being annexed by Russia. There was only the short episode of Ottoman adventurism in the South Caucasus 1918-1919, motivated mainly by Baku’s energy resources.
As diplomat, Mr. Davutoğlu can naturally tell the story differently, or even reinvent history to fit his neo-Ottoman doctrine. Portraying a “big brother – little brother” scenario (Turkey is of course the big one) and playing on Azerbaijani paranoia, Davutoğlu’s speech is an interesting text. The speech was reported by Zaman Turkish daily; I am in []:
The descendents of Nuri Paşa the Ottoman General
Noting that Turkey and Azerbaijan were brother countries and strategic partners, the foreign affairs minister said this was the reason he had made his second official overseas visit to Baku after Cyprus.
He highlighted the importance of the schools opened by Turkish entrepreneurs in Azerbaijan and said: “There may be people who are working to create problems between the two countries. But as long as there are good institutions like the Caucasus [Qavqaz] University where Turkish and Azeri brothers work together, ill-intentioned people can never reach their goals.”
Stating that Turkey and Azerbaijan have shared the same fate for a very long time [?], the minister highlighted that the educators who came from different parts of Anatolia to volunteer in Azerbaijan have the same goal as the people that came under the command of the Ottoman General Nuri Paşa in 1918 to save Azerbaijan from occupation [?].
Davutoğlu went on to say, “Look at the irony of fate. The grandchildren of those who came a century ago from Konya, Trabzon, Diyarbakır, Van and Zonguldak and who fought together with their brothers from Gence, Şeki, Nakhichevan and Karabakh are now here to establish educational facilities on these lands. I believe they have the same fate. They fought on the frontlines to protect Azerbaijan and you educators are sharing your knowledge with your brothers to protect Azerbaijan [protect from what/who?]. Your grandparents fought to make this country their native land [it wasn’t their native land? So who was exactly occupying what?] and you here are sharing knowledge to give strength to this country, and increase its population in the world [!? Does one need university education for this?].”
The Ottoman Turkish army under the command of Nuri Paşa fought to protect Baku from Russian, English and Armenian occupation in 1918 and lost 130,000 soldiers in the battle. The soldiers were buried in the Hiyabani Martyrs' Cemetery in Baku. After the Turkish army liberated Baku and Azerbaijan declared its independence, military teachers set up a school in Gence, where they trained Azeri youth.
Sharing his advice with the students, Davutoğlu said an ideal university student should have 3 important goals: finding a good job [!], learning international values very well [international values?] and adhering to national and spiritual values.
He explained that Caucasus [Qavqaz] University graduates, regardless of where they go, would encounter a Turkish population of 100 million in the world and added that the outside world needs to learn about this culture “sometimes from the verses of Fuzuli, sometimes from Mesnevi and sometimes from the works of Mimar Sinan.” [Intriguing but revealing choice by Mr. Davutoğlu as 2 out of these 3 representatives of Turkish culture were not Turks: Mesnevi was written by Mevlana Rumi, a Persian poet, Mimar Sinan was an Armenian architect serving the Ottoman Court.]
