Erdogan Helps Israel

Consigning the saga of Flotilla to the back burner, Turkey rushes to rescue Israel from the raging fire that the mighty little dagger-shaped state struggled to deal with it; Pakistan offers land route to the God-less Socialist China to have access to world leadership; Russia vies for a similar access to warm waters through peaceful overtures after the Soviet humiliation to secure it through military expansionism; Trump and Putin promise for an end to hostilities for a cordial win-win partnership; Turkey buries its hatchet against Russia over the Middle East imbroglio, in a bid to seek dividends from the engagement in Eurasian space rather than keep begging the EU; and the list goes on. Gone is the age of clash of ideologies. Ours is the age of soft power politics. Whether this is the new façade of realism or the triumph of idealism remains debated, as there are indications and contraindications for both theoretical perspectives.

Amid these winds of change, I hope Islamists will cease to stick to their old guns, and come to terms with the realities on the new world order. Unlike the cold war landscape, ideology is no more the driving force of world politics. It does not mean the end of ideology per se though. Individuals, societies and states may adhere to this or that ideological orientation, but in the inter-state relationships, it is not, need not be, in the driving seat, at least in the foreseeable future.

So, if the supporters of Erdogan eulogize him or his detractors slam for helping Israel, both need not get too exuberant about it. Both camps can talk endlessly in support of or against his political summersaults (U-Turns to use our local expression) so far. This is how world politics is going to be in the days and years ahead. After all, everything is fair in love and war, or in political jargon, idealism and realism.

By Karam Elahi