Diplomat School Begins with Public Diplomacy and the American Elections

 

The first week of the Diplomat School 4 program, organized by the Bahçeşehir University School of Government and Leadership, was held on Saturday, 03 November 2012 at Bahçeşehir University Beşiktaş Campus. Speakers at the program were Advisor to the Prime Minister of the Republic of Türkiye and Prime Ministry Public Diplomacy CoordinatorCemalettin HAŞİMİ , on the topics "Public Diplomacy Coordination" and "Türkiye-European Union Relations", and Istanbul Member of Parliament and Retired Ambassador Osman KORUTÜRK , on the topics "Türkiye's Middle East Policy" and the Syrian Crisis. The program also included a panel titled "Turkish-American Relations in the Context of the American Presidential Elections". The panel speakers, Sabancı University faculty member Prof. Dr. Ersin KALAYCIOĞLU, Bahçeşehir University faculty member Prof. Dr. Sabri SAYARI and Director of the Bahçeşehir University Center for American Studies Assist. Prof. Dr. Burak KÜNTAY , shared their impressions of the American Election Process.

Highlights from the Speakers:

Cemalettin HAŞİMİ:

"If you have no story to tell and no vision of the future, if you do not have a just and legitimate discourse, if you lack political will, vision and self-confidence, you cannot engage in Public Diplomacy. The point is that even those who disagree with you begin to listen to you, to speak in your terms and even to try to persuade you in your own terms... Our aim is to make contact with institutions the state has not reached so far... Whenever this region closes itself off to the outside, it stems from problems within. Previously, intellectual productivity disturbed the state. If you claim to be a central country, you need to say something at home and abroad. Türkiye has undergone great change under 3 main headings: Politics, History and the Economy.

I prefer to call the change in the Arab geography the Arab Revolutions. Even those that failed deserve to be called 'revolutions', because what matters is this effort, this struggle. There were troubles in the Arab geography, and attempts were made to overcome them through oppression, when in fact the trouble was the oppression itself. In this region, there have been hundreds of revolts and acts of resistance over the last century; this is not just a social media phenomenon. But what is different is that in the last 10 years they have begun to succeed. The will for freedom has found a response in the Arab geography."

Osman KORUTÜRK:                        

"It is said that since its foundation Türkiye has pursued a colorless policy in the Middle East and directed its interest only toward the West, and that the AK Party changed this 'Wait and See' policy in the Middle East. This is not a valid assessment. During the Ottoman Empire, we were perceived as the 'dominant power' in this region, which is not as positive as it is thought to be. After the Republic, we began to establish equal relations. Since its foundation, Türkiye has always been interested in this region, and its power has traditionally been soft power. Türkiye has tried to become a leader with this soft power. Türkiye is a country that acts more comfortably when there is stability in the region. But the same is not true for some countries; there are countries that benefit from instability. We, however, have always been disturbed by it. Türkiye has always tried to ensure stability in its own region. Since Atatürk's time, establishing good relations with neighbors has been fundamental to Türkiye's foreign policy. 'Peace at home, peace in the world' means: ensure peace, unity and solidarity at home, then move forward in an environment of peace without entering into bad relations with those around you. This principle has long dominated Turkish foreign policy."

Prof. Dr. Ersin KALAYCIOĞLU

"The USA wants to use the countries of the region on Syria, and Türkiye plays the leading role here. If Obama wins, Türkiye may make more demands, because enough concessions were made to Obama on Iran. Romney, on the other hand, is less knowledgeable about foreign policy; he is a state governor and businessman... If he wins, he will not be able to manage foreign policy himself in the initial period; his advisors will take over, but disagreements among them will cause a loss of time, and American foreign policy will stall significantly."

Prof. Dr. SABRİ SAYARI

"There is a process that has turned into a right-left struggle. Obama developed a very important health reform, defends gay rights, important work is being done on women's rights, and his tax system is based on the idea of from the rich to the poor. Romney, on the other hand, favors not taking too much tax from the rich in the tax system and encourages them to invest more. In terms of Turkish-American relations, Obama is closer; we know him as a country, but we do not know Romney. Romney was governor of a state where many Armenians live, and he may take a different stance on this issue. Turkish-American relations will not change greatly in the coming years; for us, the most important issue is the PKK. For America, the most important issue is the direction of Türkiye's support on Iran. 30% of Türkiye views Obama's foreign policy positively, and this is the lowest rate compared to other countries. The rate of positive views of Türkiye in America is similarly around 30%. According to recent research, there is a slight increase in Türkiye's positive view of America and a decrease in America's positive view of Türkiye."

Yrd. Doç. Dr. BURAK KÜNTAY

"When looking at the electoral systems in the USA, we evaluate them as parliamentary, like in Türkiye and Europe, but the US system is very different. The American people do not choose who will govern them as we do; they choose the people who will elect the president, forming the electoral college, and the president is elected by 538 people. The number of electors in each state varies according to the size of the state. Presidential candidates try to win the big states. Looking at the statistics in January 2012, Obama was ahead, but then he fell sharply and Romney began to overtake Obama in many states. The reasons were the Arab Spring, the Libya issue, and relations with Russia and China. Foreign policy was ineffective, and the Republican Party turned this to its advantage. My personal prediction right now is that Obama will win. The last debates have been influential in this, but it would not be a big surprise if Romney wins either. If Romney loses either Virginia or Florida, he will have no chance."