https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8177-9957
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ABSTRACT
Turkey has often in the past been presented by the West as a model for the countries of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) to emulate. Drawing on interpretivist theoretical premises which conceptualize an international actor’s normative agency through its external recognition in the target states and by employing frame analysis, we examine the alternative ideas of political governance associated with Turkey by the political elites in Egypt between 2011 and 2020. We show that despite the widespread debate on the relevance of the Turkish model during the Arab uprisings, its constituents as articulated by the local political actors have been heavily contested even during the democratic transition phase and in its immediate aftermath. We further contend that domestic contestation was in time replaced by the demonization of Turkey’s domestic governance due to the rising antagonism between the two countries instead of a genuine engagement with governance-related norms associated with Turkey. This shows the significance of domestic politics and bilateral relations in shaping the local perceptions of a third actor as a norm diffuser in recipient countries. It also underlines the importance of unpacking the discourses in the local context in understanding whether, and if so, how third-party influence travels in a country.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 Kirişçi, “Turkey’s ‘Demonstrative Effect’”; Tol, “The Turkish Model.”
2 Altunisik, “Turkish Model and Democratization”; Taspinar, “End of the Turkish Model.”
3 Adalet, Hotels and Highways.
4 Bal, Turkey’s Relations with the West.
5 Huber, Democracy Promotion and Foreign Policy, 173–77.
6 Kubicek, “Political Conditionality and European Union's Cultivation of Democracy in Turkey.”
7 Aydın-Düzgit, Constructions of European Identity.
8 Alessandri and Altunisik, “Unfinished Transitions,” 6.
9 Taspinar, “End of the Turkish Model.”
10 Alaranta, “Conclusion: Narrative (Dis) Order.”; Aydın-Düzgit, “Can Non-Democracies Support International Democracy?”
11 Aydın-Düzgit, “Can Non-Democracies Support International Democracy?”
12 Lührmann et al., “State of the World 2018,” 904–7.
13 See, among others, Uğur, “Intellectual Roots of Turkish Islam”; Gümüşçü, “No ‘Turkish Model’ for Egypt”; Ülgen et al., Can the Turkish Model Gain Traction?
14 Akgün and Gündoğar, The Perception of Turkey; Ceyhun, Turkey in the Middle East.
15 Kavalski, “The Struggle for Recognition,” 250.
16 Murray, Struggle for Recognition in International Relations, 43.
17 Larsen, “Normative Power Europe.”
18 Stanley, “Focus Groups in Political Science.”
19 Larsen, “Normative Power Europe.”
20 Zimmermann, “Same Same or Different?”
21 Zimmermann, “Same Same or Different?” 106.
22 Acharya, “How Ideas Spread,” 248, 251.
23 Wiener, Access to Contestation, 6.
24 Creed, Langstraat, and Scully, “A Picture of the Frame,” 37.
25 Wunderlich, “Positioning as Normative Actors,” 4.
26 Medrano, Framing Europe, 250; Yukawa, Hidaka, and Kushima, ‘Coups and Framing’.
27 Galpin, The Euro Crisis.
28 Medrano, Framing Europe, 5–6.
29 Wunderlich, “Positioning as Normative Actors,” 5.
30 Freedom House, “Egypt: 2020.”
31 Crespy, “Analysing European Discourses,” 107–8.
32 Duchesne et al., Citizens’ Reactions, 164.
33 Larrabee, “The Turkish Chimera.”
34 “Egypt: Turkish Secularism or Paakistani Radicalism?!”
35 Torchia and Michael, “‘Egypt’s Generals Eye Turkish Model.”
36 Ibid.
37 Najjar, “The Debate on Islam and and Secularism in Egypt,” 17.
38 “Erdogan Meets El-Baradei and Mousa.”
39 “From Ayatullah to Ayat.”
40 “30 June … Day of ‘Salvation.’”
41 “Yasser ElHodiby: Erdogan Destroyed.”
42 Muslim Brotherhood Official Statement, “Party Turkish or Egyptian Way?”
43 “Supreme Guide of the Brotherhood.”
44 Muslim Brotherhood Official Statement, “President Morsi’s Speech.”
45 Muslim Brotherhood Official Statement, “Congratulations to the Turkish People.”
46 Atwan, “Erdogan Embarrasses Rulers,” 1.
47 “Islamic Forces Welcoming of Erdogan.”
48 Gul, “Erdogan Turkey Is Different.”
49 Ibid.
50 Abdel Salam, “Egypt’s Brotherhood Wants Economy.”
51 Muslim Brotherhood Official Statement, “Salah Abdel Maqsoud Writes.”
52 Muslim Brotherhood Official Statement, “Mayor of Cairo Meets Mayor of Istanbul.”
53 “Qandil from Turkey.”
54 Muslim Brotherhood Official Statement, “Congratulations to the Turkish People.”
55 Muslim Brotherhood Official Statement, “Awda Uses the Turkish Experience.”
56 “30 June … Day of 'Salvation’”
57 “Op-Ed Review: Erdogan Criticised”; Howary, “Erdoganish Thuggery.”
58 Yukawa, Hidaka, and Kushima, “Coups and Framing.”
59 Aydın-Düzgit, Rumelili, and Gülmez, “Turkey as Model for Mediterranean?”
60 Esen and Gumuscu, “Rising Competitive Authoritarianism.”
61 “Egypt’s Hopes of Ending International Criticism.”
62 Al-Senawi, “End of Neo-Othomanism”; Howary, “Eroganish Thuggery.”
63 Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Erdogan’s Talk About Egypt.
64 Arab Affairs Committee of the Egyptian Parliament, “Turkey’s Circumvent Approach.”
65 “Erdogan Continues to Use Fatwa Weapon.”
66 Egyptian State Information Service, “News.”
67 Salloum, “Berlin Sends Wrong Message.”
68 Keyman, “A New Turkish Foreign Policy.”
69 Langan, “Virtuous Power Turkey.”
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Senem Aydın-Düzgit
Senem Aydın-Düzgit is a Professor of International Relations at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences of Sabanci University, Istanbul. Her research interests include European foreign policy, Turkish foreign policy, EU-Turkey relations, discourse studies, identity in international relations and particularly in European foreign policy, and international democracy support, in the context of both European and Turkish foreign policy.
Assem Dandashly
Assem Dandashly is an Assistant Professor at the Political Science Department at Maastricht University. His research focuses on the European Neighbourhood Policy and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in terms of democracy promotion, minority rights and security in the MENA.