The NYT versus Erdogan

 
It is a welcome addition to the polarized punditry of Turkey.  Adam McConnell, a Sabanci University graduate, now writes for Serbestiyet.  The fact that he wants to focus on Western media coverage of Turkey makes things even more interesting.  Yet, there is something disturbingly predictable in his analysis. In the familiar pattern of pro-government Turkish media, McConnell’s recent piece claims that the New York Times has been very negative, even sinister, in its approach to AKP and Erdogan (http://serbestiyet.com/the-nyt-v-erdogan-part-1/).   Well, assimilation seems to work perfectly fine for the AKP camp.

McConnell is puzzled by the fact that the NYT is paying so much attention to Turkey lately.  Yet, he seems much less puzzled by the fact that the President of the country regularly demonizes the paper.  He is equally oblivious to the fact that such demonization coming from the top triggered hundreds of death threats against NYT reporter Ceylan Yeginsu who had to temporarily leave Turkey for her safety.  Not unlike the AKP intelligentsia who detects orientalism in every criticism of the AKP, McConnell complains about pictures of veiled women accompanying articles on Turkey. Perhaps someone needs to remind him that NYT reporters don't get to select the pictures for their stories.   In his own words “the AKP openly espouses liberal-democratic political and economic ideals, even though they are conservative on cultural issues. Wasn’t this exactly the type of political movement that “the West” had been anticipating, even desiring, for several decades?”

The answer to McConnell’s important question is “yes.” Indeed, Western media and the NYT have openly embraced the AKP as a model of for the Islamic world for a considerable amount of time. But as John Maynard Keynes once famously said “When facts change, I change my mind, what do you do sir?” A quick reminder may help refresh memories. For instance, in 2007, at a very critical juncture for Turkish democracy, the much-maligned NYT firmly supported the AKP in the struggle against generals determined to overthrow the government.  There was no ambiguity in the NYT’s support for democracy (http://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/01/opinion/01tue2.html?_r=0) as the editorial clearly stated: “Turkish democracy has outgrown this kind of army tutelage, which has brought it four military coups since 1960.”

There is no point in dismissing such support for the AKP and Turkish democracy, as McConnell does, as opportunistic attempts that came in the aftermath of the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Why should the NYT hail Turkey as a model in the context of post-Saddam Iraq? A simpler and much more accurate way of analyzing the coverage of Turkey by the NYT would pay attention to the obvious: the facts on the ground. Turkey under the AKP came a long way towards democratization between 2003 and 2011. Most of the respectable Western media organizations — such as the NYT, the Washington Post, the Economist, the Financial Times, the BBC, Le Monde, the Guardian, La Republica etc. —  recognized this fact and saw Turkey as a model for the Muslim world. Only more ideological coverage in right-wing outlets such as Washington Times or the Wall Street Journal seemed permanently biased against Erdogan.

The Western support for AKP and Erdogan was not related to a neo-conservative agenda or the invasion of Iraq as McConnell seems to argue.  Instead it was about the simple fact that a political party with Islamic roots managed to provide good governance. Turkey under AKP became a living testament that democracy, secularism and Muslim tradition can harmoniously co-exist.  In the post-Arab spring euphoria, the NYT once again hailed Turkey as a success story worthy of emulation for countries like Egypt and Tunisia. NYT reporters such as Anthony Shadid, a Pulitzer Winning journalist, wrote one the most positive pieces about Erdogan titled “Leader Transcends Complex Politics of Turkey” in 2011 . http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/01/world/europe/01turkey.html?pagewanted=al  
Why would a paper that praised Erdogan so generously as late as 2011 turned critical in 2013? Hint: it is not about orientalism.  It’s about democracy, stupid.  
 
When facts change the NYT changes its opinion.  Obviously this is not the case with Mr. McConnell who sees no difference between the AKP of 2007 and the AKP of 2014.  The Turkish press could use some objective criticism about Western media. Sadly, Adam McConnell sounds like more of the same in the pro-AKP camp, only with better English and humor.

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