Erdoğan; A Skilled Player in the Middle East

Erdoğan; A Skilled Player in the Middle East

How can someone who is fluent in only one language—not the academic and diplomatic language of Turkish, but the language of the streets and everyday life—be so shrewd and calculating in Turkey’s domestic politics and the complex game of the Middle East?

He truly deserves a gold medal!

Not for his linguistics, nor for his classical diplomacy; but because he has managed to play politics so skillfully in this simple, conversational language that many educated and multilingual politicians still do not understand the rules of his game.

Erdoğan cannot be considered a simple politician. For years, he has shown that in politics, rather than remaining loyal to fixed principles, he looks at opportunities, interests, and the balance of power.

Today he shakes hands with one side, tomorrow he negotiates with another, and if necessary, the day after tomorrow he may set those same two sides against each other—without necessarily abandoning either one forever.

This is a skill that works in the Middle East.

Erdoğan has understood very well that in this region, slogans are for the people; at the negotiating table, what matters is power, money, geography, and leverage.

He speaks of “brotherhood,” but when it comes to Turkey’s interests, brotherhood has its own calculations.

Iraq is a neighbor and partner, but Iraqi citizens face restrictions and residency regulations when seeking to live in Turkey.

The Kurdistan Region is an economic partner, yet Turkey simultaneously pursues its security, economic, and political interests.

Syria is a national security issue, but that same security issue has also become a tool for Turkey’s regional influence.

Europe is a partner, but migration becomes a card of pressure.

Russia is both a rival and a partner; the United States is an ally and, at the same time, a negotiating counterpart; Arab countries are sometimes friends and sometimes economic competitors.

In Erdoğan’s vocabulary, apparently no relationship is so sacred that it cannot be recalculated.

That is what makes him such a skilled player in the Middle East.

But one thing should not be forgotten:

Being a skilled player does not necessarily mean being a great politician or an ethical politician. Someone may know the rules of the game very well, while their own citizens and neighbors pay the price.

Erdoğan may not know the academic language of politics and its complicated terminology, but he understands the language of power very well.

He knows when to smile, when to threaten, when to retreat, and when to return.

And perhaps this is his greatest skill:

Being able to present every retreat as a “victory,” every deal as “diplomacy,” and every change of position as a “political necessity.”

That is why, when I look at Erdoğan’s political behavior, I pay more attention to the movement of his pieces than to his words.

In politics, words are for the ears;

the movement of the pieces is for the truth.

And Erdoğan, at least in this game, remains one of the most skilled players on the Middle Eastern stage.


Author: Gouya Roshan

All rights reserved.


 

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