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It Is Time For Turkey To Fix Its Relations With Egypt
It Is Time For Turkey To Fix Its Relations With Egypt
It Is Time For Turkey To Fix Its Relations With Egypt
OFFICES
Analysis
tive counterparts. Intellectuals in Egypt remain reluctant
to engage or even be affiliated with Turkey as a result of the
current atmosphere created by the national leaders and the
media.
Negative Perceptions of Turkey
There are important reasons behind the current deadlock
in Turkish-Egyptian relations. First, the ruling party in
Turkey drew too many parallels between itself and the
Muslim Brotherhood (Ikhwan) in Egypt. In this regard, the
perception held by the ruling government in Turkey that
the Gezi movements in its own country were similar to the
protests held against then-President Mohamed Morsi in
Egypt caused Turkey to shift from a realist approach to one
rooted in emotion. This new strategy based on emotional
response was supplemented by the rise of protests in Turkey
expressing solidarity with Egypts Ikhwan, therefore making
the issue a domestic matter for Ankara. In the end, the
way the events unfolded made it all but impossible for the
Turkish government to retract its earlier approach, thus
constraining it to a path to greater deterioration in bilateral relations. Furthermore, this emotional approach was
regarded in Egypt as employing Ikhwan rhetoric, and
Egyptians increasingly came to criticize Turkey for taking a
reductionist approach to their country by focusing solely on
Ikhwan.
Alternately, as a foreign country, Turkeys vocal criticism
of Egypts domestic institutions elicited a strong reaction not only from the political elite but also from the
Egyptian public at large. Specifically, Turkeys aggressive
Analysis
What Can Turkey Do?
The Egyptian elites perception of Turkey as one-sided
dramatically increased after Sisi came to power. Since there
is such a high degree of misunderstanding between the
parties, Turkey needs alternative channels that allow it to
better express itself to its Egyptian counterparts in social,
political, and economic communities.
Economic cooperation could be especially effective in
creating interdependence among the involved parties, not
only facilitating the establishment of short-term solutions
but also helping to raze the long-term bulwarks that stand
in the way of amiable relations. Such an approach may
begin with the arrangement of meetings between Turkish
and Egyptian businesses. In this way, the government could
look into initiating these first steps by facilitating meetings
between the two countries prominent companies in the
economic, tourism, and industrial sectors. Furthermore,
there are still agreements between the two countries that
have yet to be ratified. If Turkey were to take the initiative
to visibly approve these agreements, Egypt may regard the
action as a sign of Turkeys good will.
In addition to businesses, civil society actors could also play
a decisive role in rapprochement between Egypt and Turkey.
Civil society actors could get in touch with their Turkish
or Egyptian counterparts, and possibly expand their target
audiences to include the larger publics of the countries.
They could explore areas of cooperation such as joint
cultural activities or scientific and scholarly collaboration.
It could be useful if influential intellectuals and journalists
from Egypt traveled to Turkey. Providing the opportunity
for such influential Egyptian voices to learn more about the
country may open channels for Turkey to reach out to the
larger Egyptian community.
When it comes to the Turkish administration, its primary
position should be one of tactical silence, strategic
dialogue, referring to the avoidance of inflammatory
speech and comments on matters where the official stances
of the Turkish and Egyptian governments may diverge. It
would also be felicitous for the two governments to avoid
speaking to one another through the media. Direct contact
would work to prevent both misunderstandings and exaggerated statements. The media in general has the tendency
to focus on the negative while often employing an implicit
Analysis
engages all parties equitably. In order to avoid further
aggravation of the two countries already dubious relations,
steps need to be taken as soon as possible.
Today, one of the major problems in the region is violent
extremism reinforced by strong attempts to instrumentalize the religion of Islam as a source of legitimacy.
Indeed, it can be argued that there is a civil war within
Islam. Various terrorist organizations, and the so-called
Islamic State in particular, are using the terms of Islamic
State and Khalifa in order to recruit militants. Egypt and
Turkey, as two reasonable countries with overwhelmingly
Sunni majorities, could work together to provide a strong
alternative model to those posed by militant organizations
sweeping the region. An alliance between the two countries, which could only ultimately be achieved after the
societies grow closer, may offer a strong voice as to the true
representation of Islam, thus introducing a robust counter
narrative that acts against the mindset that gave rise to and
continues to sustain organizations such as ISIS.
About GMF
The German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) strengthens
transatlantic cooperation on regional, national, and global challenges
and opportunities in the spirit of the Marshall Plan. GMF contributes
research and analysis and convenes leaders on transatlantic issues
relevant to policymakers. GMF offers rising leaders opportunities to
develop their skills and networks through transatlantic exchange, and
supports civil society in the Balkans and Black Sea regions by fostering
democratic initiatives, rule of law, and regional cooperation. Founded
in 1972 as a non-partisan, non-profit organization through a gift from
Germany as a permanent memorial to Marshall Plan assistance, GMF
maintains a strong presence on both sides of the Atlantic. In addition
to its headquarters in Washington, DC, GMF has offices in Berlin,
Paris, Brussels, Belgrade, Ankara, Bucharest, and Warsaw. GMF also
has smaller representations in Bratislava, Turin, and Stockholm.