Following the recent chain of events in this country, especially the tension around the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) and Kurdish Communities Union (KCK) case and the prosecutor in question, I tweeted that we perhaps need to found the republic again. Everywhere we touch, we see so many problems that render attempts to remedy the decay of this republic almost impossible. I called for the seeking of a political will to found a brand new republic, whose premises would be developed from scratch.
Sevan Nişanyan’s “Yanlış Cumhuriyet” (The Wrong Republic) is a good place to start reading about the ills of this republic. The book is a courageous treatise that asks 51 questions, fundamentally challenging the main components of the republic. Nişanyan’s book asks some daring questions such as, “Was the regime founded by Atatürk a democracy?” or “Did we indeed fight against the most formidable armies during the Turkish War of Independence?” Also, the author challenges the reader with the question of whether the Turkish Republic is truly a secular state. In any case, it is a very good read and certainly worth your time. Only when Turkey will be able to rid itself from the chains of the founding mentality will we be able to assess the achievements and contradictions of Mustafa Kemal, objectively notes Nişanyan.
Ahmet Hamdi Tanpınar’s “Sahnenin Dışındakiler” (Those beyond the Stage) is a masterpiece dealing with the political fortunes, hesitations and contradictions of the elite in occupied İstanbul. Anatolia in 1920, where the independence struggle was waged, constitutes the real stage. Tanpınar’s greatest achievement, of course, is his ability to describe the many personalities in his novel through a magnificent lens that portrays the political, cultural and psychological atmosphere of the times. I have always been in awe of Tanpınar’s language and ability to give a Turkish perspective of these very difficult times.
My next suggestion is Ali Kemal’s “Fetret,” which was edited by M. Kayahan Özgül. The word “fetret” means a sort of troubled times in the Islamic and Turkish sense. It denotes a lack of authority, chaos and troubles. Literally, it means the time between the prophets Jesus and Muhammad. The book is an interesting and honest look at Ali Kemal’s intentions to raise an ideal Turkish generation, one that benefits both from Western civilization, which he describes as superior without any hesitation, and our own traditions and ways of life. Although its language is extremely heavy and I had to read it with a Turkish-Ottoman dictionary, the book serves to reveal the perennial dilemmas experienced by the Ottoman Turkish elite in late Ottoman period in the face of a dying and disintegrating empire and the superiority of the West.
Another important book is Cemil Meriç’s “Bu Ülke” (This Country). Meriç, a distinctive intellectual, was at pains over the dominance of political ideology rather than genuine thought. He describes in a striking manner the contradictions of Western cultural and political hegemony and seeks answers in Turkey’s past. One of my favorite lines in this book is as follows: “Not to know Europe is gross blindness; those who do get to know Europe are abandoning their country -- how are we to get out of this circuit of damnation?”
My last suggestion is Adem Yavuz Arslan’s “Bi Ermeni Var” (There is an Armenian). Arslan has thoroughly investigated the murder of Armenian intellectual and journalist Hrant Dink. He follows step by step the lead up to the murder and makes the link to Turkey’s deep state structures. The book offers plenty of interesting details for the reader and attests to a remarkable chain of events that led up to the heinous killing of an important intellectual of this country. Unless you are thrilled by the snow in Ankara, I would suggest you get to reading one of these books.
