The proposal to love the word cosmopolitan again

Sunday, November 27, 2005

I am in Belgium to attend a meeting organized by a Brussels-based European think tank. In light of the recent developments in France, the most discussed issue here is the dynamics that caused the chaos and revolts in France.

  I am in Belgium to attend a meeting organized by a Brussels-based European think tank. In light of the recent developments in France, the most discussed issue here is the dynamics that caused the chaos and revolts in France. While it is not said openly, the most questioned problem is whether similar incidents could happen some where else in Europe and how to draw the political/cultural boundaries of Europe. In other words, one of the issues that dominated the agenda was “Europe and Islam.” The question, “How can they exist side by side” is now replaced by another that asks, “How can they live together?”

  European intelligentsia is very uncomfortable with the Middle East policy and “anti-Europeanness” of the conservatives in the United States. They are aware of the presence of a conservative clique that accuses them of being “bohemian, lazy, excessively idealist, excessively leftist, too attached to nuances,” in short, being blind to fact. Because this clique sees human rights, minority rights and civil movements as “negotiable” issues, these can be changed in accordance with the facts of “realpolitik.” European politicians and intellectuals should fear global “Islamophobia” as much as they fear the habit of “belittling Europe” spreading in the United States.

  Turkey has a lot to contribute to this debate at this juncture, both for itself, its neighbors and the world. In an international restructuring where Islamophobia is escalating and the fear of the other is polarizing the world, Turkey and the European Union process may alter this course and ensure that fictional boundaries in hearts and minds are overcome. Turkey could prove representation, multiculturalism and “Islam and European democracy” could perfectly coexist next and within each other in a world that is constantly becoming more polarized. The EU process it needs to follow to achieve this is knitted with reforms that it needs to implement for its own good, and that s why politicians and/or journalists need to stop playing to the crowds and free themselves from the attitude of, “We won t allow Europe to interfere in our internal affairs.” The century where nation-states isolated themselves and fed on nationalist ideology is behind us.

  At the meeting of the think tank, international relations expert and one of the most cosmopolitan voices in Europe, British analyst-thinker Mark Leonard, said the 21st century will become Europe s future and, in this context, Turkey definitely needs to be included in this picture. Leonard sees the Europe project as working together today in order to refrain repeating the mistakes of yesterday. The European Union, in this context, is a MEMORY PROJECT. In order to become a success in this century, it has to prop up its cosmopolitan roots. In short, Leonard believes Europe needs to see Turkey as a part of itself, while Turkey should not confront the reforms it has to make for its own good as an affront. He describes a Europe where heroic statements are no more and governments that exist for their own sake are gone, in his books and speeches. A Europe that provides a cultural, political, philosophic and economic alternative to nation-states that rise on the foundations of aggressive domestic and foreign policies and that sees differences and wealth as not problematic.

  The word “cosmopolitan” returns to our political jargon from not only via Europe but also via our own past. During the transformation from a multi-national and multi-power empire into a nation-state that claimed it was homogeneous, one of the most discussed issues by the intellectuals of the day, especially Ömer Seyfettin, was that “cosmopolitanism and nationalism” were two extremes. Seyfettin and others saw cosmopolitanism as a threat. They did not favor it. I just ignore the explanation, “Those were the conditions of the time.” One of the biggest losses Turkey suffered was the loss of its cosmopolitanism.

  Today, we need to choose the exact opposite of the route chosen by Seyfettin. Turkish intellectuals need to make peace with the word “cosmopolitan” and should realize the importance this word will have to 21st century politics. The Europe hoped for by European intellectuals like Leonard is also what we hope for.